老澳门开奖结果 Files Court Challenge to State of Nebraska鈥檚 Execution Protocol
LINCOLN, Neb 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 of Nebraska today announced a lawsuit challenging the state鈥檚 execution protocol, asserting that state officials hastily developed new execution procedures in violation of Nebraska鈥檚 Administrative Procedure Act. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of State Sen. Ernie Chambers and Rev. Stephen Griffith.
The lawsuit, filed in Lancaster County District Court, alleges that the state of Nebraska in January 2017 approved a flawed execution protocol developed by the state Department of Corrections Services without adequate public review and in violation of the due process clause of the Nebraska state Constitution. The plaintiffs seek an injunction blocking the execution procedure from moving forward until the state enacts regulations in compliance with the APA and which provide adequate opportunity for public input and review.
鈥淭he NDCS promulgated this very important protocol, upon which lives literally depend, on a single try and without making any drafts or working copies at all, and without consulting any public or private experts,鈥� the lawsuit states.
The challenge to the execution protocol comes at a crucial time for Nebraska, which is preparing for its first possible executions in more than 20 years. The new procedures include major revisions to the drugs to be used in executions, adopted in a cloak of secrecy without input on whether they pose the possibility of a cruel and inhumane death for condemned inmates.
Nebraska is one of a number of states that have rushed to install new execution procedures in violation of their respective state administrative rules.
The 老澳门开奖结果 of Nebraska has already presented serious evidence that state prison officials may have violated federal law in how they obtain execution drugs. Last week, Sen. Chambers, a plaintiff in today鈥檚 lawsuit, filed a formal complaint with the state Legislature asserting that the lethal injection protocol is unconstitutional.
鈥淎nything the government does in the name of, and on behalf of, the people should be done in plain sight,鈥� Sen. Chambers said. 鈥淭he rulemaking process was flawed and didn鈥檛 allow the public to comment with the required background information. The state needs to follow the law and that鈥檚 especially true when it鈥檚 the death penalty, which erodes the notion of human dignity and civilization.鈥�
Added Rev. Griffith, who was prevented from participating in the rulemaking process: 鈥淚 tried in good faith to participate in the legal process. I asked for the records to prepare for the public hearing, and I went down and testified as a concerned citizen. But how can there be a true public debate when there is no transparency? I want to be clear: I believe no method of execution is acceptable. But if there is going to be a government process that ends human lives, it must be visible and not hidden in secrecy.鈥�
鈥淣ebraskans of goodwill hold different viewpoints on the death penalty,鈥� said Danielle Conrad, executive director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Nebraska. 鈥淗owever, Nebraskans across the political spectrum agree that when the state seeks to implement its most grave function it must do so within the bounds of the law. Nebraska has a proud tradition of open government and public participation in the rulemaking process is critical to honoring that tradition and informing the process with the voices of experts and everyday citizens. Unfortunately, that didn鈥檛 happen when the state updated its execution protocol. This is yet another significant failure on the part of state officials in their misguided attempts to rush forward with a broken death penalty system.鈥�
The 老澳门开奖结果 legal team is led by Amy Miller, legal director for the 老澳门开奖结果 of Nebraska. The global law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is serving as co-counsel on a pro bono basis.
鈥淲e are proud to partner with the 老澳门开奖结果 on such an important case that rests on ensuring the state of Nebraska follows the rule of law when the stakes are life and death,鈥� said Rene Kathawala, Pro Bono Counsel for Orrick. 鈥淭his lawsuit is designed to make sure the state does follow the rule of law. We simply want the state to take a step back and consider the consequences of developing a procedure in haste and that is clearly flawed.鈥�
The legal team also sent a letter to Attorney General Doug Peterson regarding any requests for an execution warrant for Mr. Carey Dean Moore. A copy of the complaint and letter to the Attorney General are attached and will also be posted online.
To view a brief troubled history of Nebraska鈥檚 lethal injection activities:
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For over 50 years in Nebraska, the 老澳门开奖结果 has worked in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect the constitutional and individual rights of all people. With a nationwide network of offices and millions of members and supporters, we take up the toughest civil liberties fights. Beyond one person, party, or side 鈥� we the people dare to create a more perfect union. Learn more at .
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WASHINGTON 鈥� More than 130 civil and human rights organizations, led by the 老澳门开奖结果, Amnesty International USA, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, issued a letter to President Biden today, urging him to commute the sentences of people on federal death row before he leaves office. The letter highlights the moral and legal failings of the death penalty in the United States and stresses the urgency of action to prevent the potential resurgence of federal executions under an incoming Trump administration. The groups call on Biden to fulfill his campaign promise to address the irrevocably broken federal death penalty and to 鈥渂ring America into a new era of moral leadership.鈥� President Biden was the first presidential candidate to openly oppose the death penalty, and his administration issued a moratorium on federal executions. With 40 men still on death row, however, the letter emphasizes that commuting federal death sentences is the only irreversible action President Biden can take to prevent the incoming administration from attempting another execution spree. "President Biden has an opportunity to make history by addressing the racist and unjust federal death penalty system and keep an early campaign promise he made to the American people,鈥� said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the 老澳门开奖结果. 鈥淐ommuting the sentences of those on death row would help end the death penalty once and for all and prevent a second execution spree by President Trump. Trump鈥檚 first act of political theater ended in the execution of 13 people. President Biden shouldn鈥檛 allow Trump to repeat that travesty." In Trump鈥檚 final months in office, his administration executed 13 people in rapid succession, more than any administration in over 120 years. The Trump administration also amended the federal execution protocol which opened the door to more brutal methods of execution, including death by firing squad, electrocution, and nitrogen hypoxia, an untested and torturous method. Below are additional comments from: Paul O鈥橞rien, executive director, Amnesty International USA: 鈥淧resident-elect Trump has promised to restart and accelerate the federal death machine, just as he did in his last administration. In the span of only 6 months, the Trump administration executed more people than the 10 previous presidential administrations combined. The executions carried out in his first term demonstrated to the world how the federal death penalty is fundamentally broken and that this ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment should be abolished forever. We should take Trump at his word when he says he plans to repeat this horrific killing spree, and Biden must do what he can now to prevent it.鈥� Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel, Legal Defense Fund: 鈥淪ince our founding, LDF has been unwavering in its fight to abolish the death penalty and eliminate racial discrimination from our criminal legal system. The death penalty is rooted in slavery, lynchings, and white vigilantism and historically weaponized against people of color. From the Groveland Four in 1949 to many capital cases today, Black people are disproportionately impacted by the ultimate punishment. Commuting the sentences of the 40 individuals on federal death row is an unprecedented opportunity for President Biden to cement his commitment to remedying injustice by exercising executive clemency.鈥� Margaret Huang, president and CEO, The Southern Poverty Law Center: 鈥淭he death penalty is rooted in a deep history of racialized violence. To this day, race is still the biggest predictor of who gets sentenced to death, with Black people accounting for nearly 40% of those on federal death row, despite representing less than 12% of the adult population. And fully 70% of those on federal death row are from the South. Our nation, and particularly the communities that we serve in the Deep South, cannot achieve true racial justice while the death penalty remains in practice.鈥� Joia Erin Thornton, executive director, FLOCC (Faith Leaders of Color Coalition): 鈥淧resident Biden should commute all federal death sentences because doing so would acknowledge and help redress the racial bias built into the federal death penalty system, allow government resources to be redirected to policies that actually make our communities safer, and allow the families of victims and incarcerated persons to focus on healing instead of living in legal limbo.鈥� This letter is one of more than a dozen letters released today from hundreds of stakeholders from across the political and faith spectrums calling on President Biden to commute all federal death sentences, including Black pastors, former corrections officials, business leaders, current and former prosecutors, families who have lost loved ones to homicide, mental health advocates, and many more. All of the letters can be found here. -
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