Nebraska group challenges death penalty referendum News
Nebraska group challenges death penalty referendum

[JURIST] Nebraskans for Public Safety [advocacy website] initiated a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] Thursday challenging the legality of a voter referendum that has been planned to potentially overturn the legislative repeal of the death penalty in the state. In May the Nebraska Legislature passed LB 268 [materials], which repealed the death penalty, but Governor Pete Ricketts [official website] vetoed the bill. In May Nebraska lawmakers overrode [JURIST report] that veto, again abolishing the death penalty. The referendum seeks to allow the voters to decide in the November general election whether to reinstate the death penalty, thereby invalidating LB 268. Plaintiffs allege that Ricketts is an undisclosed sponsor of the referendum and cite several instances of proof, including the fact that he used his personal fortune to send referendum fund-raising solicitation letters with his title as governor “prominently displayed.” Plaintiffs also allege that omitting the name of a key sponsor on the Referendum Petition renders it insufficient and invalid under the requirements of Nebraska Revised Statute 32-1405(1) [text]. They now seek an injunction against the referendum.

Use of the death penalty [JURIST news archive] has been a controversial issue throughout the US and internationally. Earlier this week an Oklahoma appeals court granted an emergency stay of execution [JURIST report] for inmate Richard Glossip several hours before he was scheduled for his lethal injection. In June the US Supreme Court held that the use of the drug midazolam may be used in executions [JURIST report] without violating the constitution. In April the Tennessee Supreme Court [official website] had postponed the execution [JURIST report] of four inmates on death row while it determines whether current protocols are constitutional, effectively halting all executions in the state. Also in April the Delaware Senate voted to repeal the death penalty [JURIST report], but the legislation includes an exemption for the 15 inmates currently on Delaware’s death row. In March Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed a bill [JURIST report] to restore the firing squad as a method of execution, making Utah one of the only states with that option.