Nebraska's supply of sodium thiopental — a required lethal injection drug — expired in December, leaving the state with no approved way to carry out executions. The drug is nearly impossible to buy because like most drugs used in executions, it's produced by European-based companies that are prohibited from exporting drugs used for capital punishment.
The hurdles in Nebraska have reached a point that even some death-penalty supporters believe the state will never execute another inmate.
Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha said he considers the death penalty an appropriate punishment for the most heinous crimes. But with constant legal challenges and no approved way to carry out executions, he said, the state is wasting money.
"Without a means to do it, we really don't have a death penalty," Krist said. "If you don't have the capacity to do it, then having it on the books just means an extensive appeals process. It sets the state up for a very expensive, long-term legal fight. It just seems to me ... that life in prison without parole is the cleanest and least expensive option."
Source: Houston Chronicle, May 4, 2014
