ACLU asks Nebraska Supreme Court to delay setting execution date

The ACLU of Nebraska asked the State Supreme Court on Friday to postpone setting an execution date for Carey Dean Moore until four lawsuits are resolved.

The request could delay an execution date for months for Moore, who's spent 38 years on death row, far longer than any of the 11 other inmates sentenced to die.

The motion contests arguments by Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, who has maintained that the legal battle is over and has asked the Supreme Court to expedite the scheduling of Moore's execution. He argued that all "subsequent collateral attacks and other various postponements have been exhausted." Plus, 1 of the state's 4 drugs needed for the execution will expire Aug. 31.

Peterson suggested a July 10 date for the state's 1st execution in 21 years, a date that coincides - by accident, according to the attorney general - with the birthday of State Sen. Ernie Chambers, an ardent foe of capital punishment.

The ACLU, in its filing by legal counsel Amy Miller, said that "several substantial (legal) questions" are pending and that the court should put off an execution to ensure that the state doesn't engage in an "unconstitutional or unlawful execution."

The Attorney General's Office, in response, said that state law requires the setting of an execution date when a death sentence is "final" and no court has issued a stay of execution, which is the case at this point.

"Today's late filing by the ACLU is their latest dilatory effort to obstruct the requirement to carry out final death penalty sentences," said Suzanne Gage, a spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office. She noted that the ACLU has lost recent court rulings on the issue.

Whether the Supreme Court would set an execution date quickly, or wait until other court cases are resolved, has been a question for speculation.

Moore recently filed a sworn statement with the Supreme Court, affirming that he wants no legal representation to fight the setting of an execution.

Previously, he had told The World-Herald that after spending 38 years on death row, he will not oppose becoming the 1st Nebraska inmate to die by lethal injection. The state's last execution, in 1997, was via the electric chair, which has since been deemed unconstitutional.

But despite Moore's withdrawal, others who oppose capital punishment, including the ACLU, have continued to fight.

The ACLU, in its request to file a brief on behalf of Moore, cited 4 pending lawsuits that relate to the state's death penalty that the group says should "constitute 'just cause' for delaying issuing an execution warrant until they are resolved."

Those pending legal actions are:

-- A lawsuit, now on appeal to the Supreme Court, that seeks to nullify the 2016 referendum approved by voters that reinstated the death penalty. The suit asks the court to declare that the vote came too late and that the sentences of all death row inmates at the time should be changed to life in prison.

-- A lawsuit, also under appeal, that alleges that the state violated its procedures in adopting a lethal injection protocol.

-- A public records action, filed by the ACLU of Nebraska, that seeks the release of information about where, and from whom, the state obtained its supply of lethal injection drugs. That lawsuit is pending before a Lancaster County district judge.

-- A legal spat over whether the state's prison director, Scott Frakes, should comply with a subpoena from the State Legislature to testify about the procurement of lethal injection drugs.

Moore, 60, was sentenced to death for the 1979 killings of Omaha cabdrivers Reuel Van Ness and Maynard Helgeland.

Source: Omaha World-Herald, June 9, 2018

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death. Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months.

Florida | DeSantis sets execution of man who killed Indian River deputy, temporarily pauses another execution

William Reaves is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Oct. 20th. It's the 18th death warrant Gov. DeSantis has signed this year. Reaves shot Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski in September 23, 1986. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his 18th death warrant of the year Friday. William Reaves, convicted of the 1986 killing of an Indian River County Sheriff's deputy, is set to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke on Oct. 20.

Texas House chairman wants child rapists eligible for death penalty

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Under current Supreme Court precedent, states cannot execute someone for raping a child if the victim survives. That’s not stopping State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-McKinney. “We’re going to have a debate in this building behind me about the death penalty being on the table for any Texan who rapes a child,” Leach, the chair of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, said. Leach made the comments while hosting a news conference supporting his client, abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire.

Israel | Ben Gvir discusses death penalty for Neveh Tzuf terrorist hours before Yom Kippur

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the Neveh Tzuf terrorist during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two hours before the start of Yom Kippur on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the terrorist responsible for the attack in Neveh Tzuf during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had reportedly convened the meeting in response to the security situation in the West Bank following the Sunday terror attack.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed." SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.

Taylor Parker becomes 7th woman on death row in Texas

Taylor Parker is set to become the 7th woman on death row in Texas, following her sentencing Wednesday in Bowie County for the capital murder of Reagan Hancock and the kidnapping her unborn baby, Braxlynn Sage. The baby did not survive. The last woman to be handed a death sentence in the state was Kimberly Cargill in June 2012 for the slaying of her developmentally disabled babysitter in Smith County, who was set to testify against her in a custody battle. None of the women currently on death row in Texas are scheduled for execution. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 6 women have been executed in Texas since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, more than any other state, according to Death Penalty Information Center. The last woman to be executed in the U.S. was Lisa Montgomery in January 2021. It was the first execution of a female inmate carried out by the federal government since 1953, and her case is chillingly reminiscent of Parker’s. She wa...

Tennessee | Christa Pike Requests Clemency Ahead of September 30 Execution Date; Experts’ Amicus Brief Points to ‘Substantial Risk’ of Re-traumatization

Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemency petition with Governor Bill Lee, asking him to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole ahead of her September 30 execution date. Ms. Pike’s clemency petition outlines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old cannot be separated from a childhood marked by repeated rape, sexual abuse, and neglect that went unaddressed by the adults and state systems meant to protect her. Once incarcerated, Ms. Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Alabama executes Jeffery Lee

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBMA) — Alabama has executed Jeffery Lee, nearly three decades after he was convicted in the 1998 killings of two people during a pawnshop robbery in rural Dallas County. Lee, 49, was put to death by lethal injection Thursday evening at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. His execution came three months after a federal judge blocked Alabama's plans to execute him using nitrogen gas. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Central Time, according to the office of Governor Kay Ivey.

Texas set to execute second man convicted in 2005 South Texas triple murder

Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey is scheduled to die Wednesday, one week after the state executed his co-defendant for the same killings. Texas is scheduled to execute a man on Wednesday for the 2005 shooting deaths of three people during a botched robbery in a small South Texas town, just one week after the state put his co-defendant to death for the same crime. Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey, 41, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog