2018 NE Governor's race: on Crime

ACLU: Death penalty is a broken process; abolish it nationwide

The 38-year-long journey to this execution further proves what we've been saying all along: The ACLU believes the death penalty in America is a broken process from start to finish and should be abolished nationwide. Governor Ricketts has carried out a lethal injection shrouded in secrecy. This execution of Carey Dean Moore does not comport with Nebraska's proud tradition of open government. Today stands as the most recent dark chapter in Nebraska's troubled history with the death penalty. Nebraskans of goodwill have different beliefs about the death penalty, but it is troubling and curious why Governor Ricketts made the death penalty his signature issue. More states are turning away from capital punishment.

Peter Ricketts: First NE execution in 20 years, with new drug combination

The execution comes a little more than three years after Nebraska lawmakers abolished the death penalty, only to have it reinstated the following year through a citizen ballot drive partially financed by Gov. Pete Ricketts. The governor has said he was fulfilling the wishes of voters in the conservative state.

The Nebraska drug protocol called for an initial IV dose of diazepam, to render the inmate unconscious; the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl; cisatracurium besylate to induce paralysis and stop the inmate from breathing; and potassium chloride to stop the heart. After each injection, prison officials sent saline through the IV to flush out any residue and ensure all the drugs had entered the inmate's system. Diazepam, fentanyl and cisatracurium had never been used in executions before.