The Nebraska Legislature will decide in the coming weeks whether it will officially ban the death penalty.

If passed, it would be the first conservative state to do so in more than 40 years. But while support is growing among a coalition of conservative, liberal and moderate state senators, Nebraska’s Tea Party Governor Pete Ricketts says lethal punishment is still necessary.

Here & Now’s Robin Young speaks with Colby Coash, a state senator from Nebraska, who co-sponsored the bill that would replace capital punishment with life imprisonment.

Guest

• Colby Coash, Nebraska state senator. He tweets @ColbyCoash.

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