Wednesday, february 25, 1976
page 8
daily nebraskan
third
dimension
redefining
state crimes
Code
Continued from p. 7
"Initially, the prosecutor has to bring charges,
Chambers said. "If you're favored, the charge would be
second degree murder, if you're unpopular the charge will
be first degree murder."
Plea bargaining also can reduce charges, Chambers said.
"Even if convicted, appeals can be made to the Ne
braska and the United States Supreme Courts and the
State Board of Pardon," Chambers said. "All the way
along the favored have chances to get off. You need
popularity, fame, friends, money or -political pulls."
Some persons might worry that innocent people will be
executed, DeCamp said, but by the same token there pro
bably are innocent people in the penitentiary now.
"Chambers says somebody horn in a
ghetto has more chance of being
faced with the death penalty,"
Decamp said. "It reaches the
point of absurdity. You can't
make everyone be born white,
Anglo-Saxon and Protestant."
"You will never come up with a system that is
completely perfect," DeCamp said .
Nebraskans favor his amendment, DeCamp said, adding
that the bill satisfies the people's demand for a real death
penalty, not just a paper one.
Constituency favors bill
"I poll my constituency every three to four months,"
DeCamp said, "and 89 per cent favor the bill."
DeCamp said his district was "one of the most conser
vative in Nebfaska if not in the United States."
Chambers said it "was hard to say what Nebraskans
would say about the bill," but added that "Nebraskans are
non-readers and most won't even know what this bill is
about."
"Chambers says somebody born in a ghetto has more
of a chance of being faced with the death penalty,"
DeCamp said. "It reaches the point of absurdity. You
can't make everyone be born white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant."
Chambers said everyone in his district could favor the
death penalty but "I would still oppose it."
"This is a human problem as well as an ethical ana
moral one," Chambers said.
New code defines abortion law
The new criminal code also defines Nebraska's stand on
abortion, a subject receiving national and state attention
during this election year.
LB623 specifies that the abortion provisions were
"motivated by the legislative intrusion of the U.S.
Supreme Court by virtue of its (1973) decision removing
the protection afforded the unborn."
" The Nebraska code explains that the abortion laws are
not be understood to condone abortions but rather are an
expression of the will of Nebraskans to provide protection
for the life of the unborn child until such protection can
be afforded by an amendment to the United States Con
stitution. Toward this end, the law specifies that every physician
consulted about an abortion by an expectant mother shall
inform her of agencies and services available to assist her
in carrying the pregnancy to natural term.
The law stipulates that no abortion shall be performed
or prescribed after the unborn child has reached viability
(is able to live outside the mother's womb), except when
necessary to preserve the woman from an imminent peril
that substantially endangers her life or health.
Parental consent is needed before abortions can be per
formed on minors. Consent of the father of the unborn
child also is required.
Hospitals and clinics are not required to admit patients
for the purpose of an abortion and no person shall be re
quired to perform or participate in an abortion.
Law would establish reporting form
LB623 requires the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the
State Department of Health to establish an abortion re
porting form.
The form will include:
-the age of the pregnant woman
-marital status of the pregnant woman
-the location of the abortion
-type of abortion performed
-name of physician performing abortion
-the stated reason or reasons for which the abortion
was requested
-the length and weight of the aborted child, when
measurable.
The forms will be kept on permanent file and shall be a
matter of pub lie record. -
Bill outlines
ten penalties
If LB623, which revises the Nebraska Criminal
Code, is adopted, it will classify crimes into 10
categories and will fix a penalty for each class of
crime. The proposed code designates five classes
of felonies and five classes of misdemeanors.
In the current code, each crime carries its own
separate penalty.
The following is a list of the 10 classes of crime
and their penalties in the revised criminal code.
Gass I felony
Class IA felony
Class II felony
Class III felony
Class IV felony
Class I misdemeanor
Class II misdemeanor
Class HI misdemeanor
Class IV misdemeanor
Class V misdemeanor
Death
Life imprisonment
1 to 50 years imprison
ment 1 to 20 years imprison
ment. Up to $24 ,000 fine
1 to 5 years imprisonment
Up to $1000 fine
Up to one year imprison
ment. Up to $1,000 fins
Up to six months impri
sonment. Up to $1 ,000
fine
Up to three months im
prisonment. Up to $500
fine x
$100 to $500 fine
Up to $100 fine
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