28 February 2020 :
On Thursday, the Legislature debated and then voted to advance a bill (LB 238) that would ensure a more transparent execution, and a requirement that 2 members of the Legislature be allowed to witness executions along with media representatives, family members and certain Corrections employees. It's been 18 months since Nebraska conducted its first execution in more than 20 years, killing Carey Dean Moore by lethal injection (see Aug. 14, 2018). Some senators are still disturbed by the 14-minute gap in that execution that witnesses missed when the curtain was closed and only reopened after Moore had been declared dead. The bill would allow witnesses to see the execution from the time the condemned prisoner enters the death chamber until the person is declared dead or the execution is halted.
