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Neb. protocol to carry out death penalty proposed

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KTIV) - A three drug combination is the proposed execution "cocktail" for inmates in Nebraska on death row. Nebraska corrections officials made the proposal with the same drugs used in other states.

For years the electric chair was the choice of execution for condemned inmates in Nebraska, but now it's a three drug combination.

"And when those three drugs are administered simultaneously it'll cause death to that person," said Dakota City, Neb. Corrections Director Terry Kern.

The executions will take place at a state level in Lincoln, Nebraska. The proposal from the Nebraska Department of Corrections says the first drug would induce a deep sleep for the prisoner. The warden would then have to check and make sure the prisoner is unconscious before they can proceed. The next drug would likely be a muscle relaxant which paralyzes the diaphragm and lungs. That will stop the inmate from breathing, and the last drug would stop the heart from beating.

"So essentially they'll go to sleep and never wake up," said Kern.

The proposed process is designed so the inmate wouldn't know when the injections occur. To carry out the process, the execution team would include the department director, the Nebraska State Penitentiary warden, the penitentiary staff communicator, at least seven people to escort the prisoner and a two-person IV team. The IV team is to start an intravenous line and administer the drugs when the director orders.

Nebraska was the last death penalty state to adopt lethal injection as its method of execution. State lawmakers approved the change earlier this year.