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Death Penalty Ballot Language Challenged

By Associated Press

09/22/2015

(KLZA)-- LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Opponents of a campaign to reinstate Nebraska's death penalty allege that ballot language drafted by the attorney general's office for the 2016 election is slanted in favor of death penalty supporters.

Nebraskans for Public Safety, which opposes capital punishment, asked a judge Monday to declare that the wording must be changed.

Lawmakers passed a death penalty repeal law in May, triggering a referendum campaign. The ballot language submitted by Attorney General Doug Peterson says retaining the law would eliminate capital punishment and change the "maximum" penalty for first-degree murder to life in prison.

The lawsuit says the word "maximum" incorrectly implies that first-degree murder convicts could face a lesser sentence.

The attorney general's office says it complied with its legal duty to provide clear, fair and impartial ballot language.

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