BOB EVNEN IS A HERO!

Bob Evnen received the Rayner Goddard Act of Courage Award from the comrades of Unit 1012. He favors the use of the death penalty and is working to retain it in his state.

We have watched him fight for justice and the death penalty in Nebraska and want him to know that he has encouraged victims' families and leaders worldwide. We honor and respect him. We hope that more judges and government officials will follow their courageous character. 

            Please remember to save the death penalty in Nebraska by voting repeal (DO NOT vote Retain) to save the death penalty: 

 

Bob Evnen

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.kearneyhub.com/opinions/kearneyview/execution-reserved-for-most-heinous-murderers/article_0d260040-8efc-11e6-a31d-777315b5dfa7.html

Execution reserved for most heinous murderers

Posted: Monday, October 10, 2016 10:13 am

Bob Evnen

Nebraska View

A recent Hub Opinion called the death penalty “wasteful and ineffective.” It is neither. The death penalty is a just punishment imposed in our state only for the most heinous crimes committed by the most depraved criminals. We are careful here, and we impose the death penalty only in the most extreme cases. That’s as it should be. We should keep the death penalty on the books for those cases.

Opponents of the death penalty frequently point to costs, but their cost claims are beyond belief and ignore cost savings. The “study” by Creighton University economist Ernie Goss doesn’t look like a study at all. It looks like a four-color glossy promotional piece. That’s not surprising. Goss was paid $16,000 by an anti-death penalty group to produce it.

Goss claims Nebraska spends an extra $14.6 million annually on the death penalty. No one in the criminal justice system confirms Goss’ number. The Legislature’s Fiscal Office said there would be no cost savings from repealing the death penalty. Goss’ mathematically produced estimate has no relationship to reality in our state.

The opponents ignore cost savings from having the death penalty on the books. One recent example occurred in Buffalo and Hall counties, where a man shot and killed his ex-wife at her home. Next he drove to Grand Island and shot his former lawyer to death. He was charged with first degree murder in both cases. The killer agreed to plead guilty to first degree murder in both counties in exchange for the Hall County attorney’s agreement not to seek the death penalty. (The death penalty had not been sought in Buffalo County.)

Because the death penalty was on the books, the costs of two first degree murder trials, and a number of likely appeals, were avoided altogether.

Other states have working drug protocols and our state can, too. Nebraska’s current protocol was selected because it was the protocol of the federal government. Now it’s the federal government that is preventing Nebraska from obtaining the drugs. But we can change our protocol to a process that has worked elsewhere. With strong support for the death penalty at the polls, we will.

Then there’s the claim that “life means life.” It doesn’t. Three years ago the Pardons Board commuted the life sentence of a Nebraska man who had been convicted of first degree murder. He was promptly paroled. Several months later he was back in prison for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.

Then, too, some of the people who piously claim that “life means life” are themselves working to end life sentences.

There are numerous studies that demonstrate the deterrent effect of the death penalty, not only when it is carried out, but when the sentence is issued. Death penalty opponents dislike these studies because of their clear implication: if we have good reason to believe that the death penalty deters murder, then it is not just morally permissible, it is morally compelled, because it saves innocent lives.

Law enforcement overwhelmingly supports the death penalty. Buffalo County Sheriff Neil Miller recently joined many of his colleagues from across the state reaffirming his support for the death penalty. The support of the law enforcement community means a lot. We should protect those who protect us.

The death penalty is a just punishment, sparingly applied, as it should be. The voters have exercised their constitutional right to vote on this serious issue. To keep the death penalty, vote “Repeal.” Voting to “repeal” the Legislature’s repeal will keep the death penalty on the books in Nebraska.

Bob Evnen, a Lincoln attorney, is co-founder of Nebraskans for the Death Penalty and a former member of the Nebraska Board of Education.