County attorneys oppose a bill before the Nebraska legislature’s Judiciary Committee that would abolish the death penalty.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kliene testified during a hearing that the Nebraska County Attorney Association wants the option available, even though the state hasn’t executed anyone in nearly 20 years. . .

But, the brother of a murder victims supports repeal.
Miriam Kelle, whose brother James Thimm suffered a brutal death at the hands of Michael Ryan in 1985, says repeated appeals have kept Ryan from being executed…and has prolonged the suffering of her family. . .

The bill would replace the death penalty with life in prison without parole.
The last person to be executed in Nebraska, Robert Williams, was put to death in the electric chair in 1997.