30 January 2017 :

Gov. Ricketts signs new death penalty protocol. Governor Pete Ricketts signed the protocol for carrying out death penalty sentences in Nebraska and delivered it to Secretary of State John Gale. "The Department of Corrections was responsive to feedback provided in the public hearing," said Governor Ricketts. "Finalizing the protocol will help carry out the will of the people of Nebraska in regards to the death penalty." According to state documents, the Director of the State of Nebraska Department of Correctional Services will determine which substance or substances and quantity are to be used in the execution. The director's choice of substances may be based on its availability. The plan outlines that the substances must be intravenously injected. The quantity must also be sufficient to cause death without infliction of pain. Inmates will be notified at least 60 days prior to the Nebraska Attorney General request of an execution warrant from the Nebraska Supreme Court. The inmate must be notified of what substance, or substances will be used, the quantity and if more than 1 substance will be used. They must also be informed on the order the substances will be administered. The protocol includes an "execution team" that includes the director, the warden of the penitentiary, a public information officer, an escort team (to provide security for the prisoner) an IV team and a pharmacist or pharmaceutical chemist. Under the new protocol, the substance or substances may be directly purchased of obtained through the Department Pharmacy or obtained through any other appropriate source, including pharmaceutical or chemical compounding. Nebraska hasn't executed an inmate since 1997, when it used the electric chair. The state has never used the old protocol which included a 3-drug protocol consisting of sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride. Nebraska's previous 3-drug protocol faced repeated legal challenges. The state also struggled to legally acquire sodium thiopental, 1 of the required drugs. Nebraska voters reinstated the death penalty in November, overturning the Legislature's decision to abolish the punishment.