LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A measure to abolish the death penalty in Nebraska has been pulled from debate in the Legislature, but could return later in the session.
Omaha Sen. Brenda Council filed a motion Friday to indefinitely postpone her own bill (LB276) until she can learn more about how state officials obtained a lethal injection drug.
The lawyer for death-row inmates Carey Dean Moore and Michael Ryan has challenged the legality of the sodium thiopental purchase, saying the doses were not supposed to be sold.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning has produced documents that show an Indian drug broker bought the drug from a Swiss manufacturer, and then sold the doses to Nebraska.
Council says she will likely seek to revive the bill for more debate later in the session.