83-965. Director of Correctional Services; written execution protocol; contents.

(1) A sentence of death shall be enforced by the Director of Correctional Services. Upon receipt of an execution warrant, the director shall proceed at the time named in the warrant to enforce the sentence, unless the director is informed that enforcement of the sentence has been stayed by competent judicial authority, the sentence has been commuted, or the conviction has been pardoned.

(2) The director shall create, modify, and maintain a written execution protocol describing the process and procedures by which an execution will be carried out consistent with this section. The director shall (a) select the substance or substances to be employed in an execution by lethal injection, (b) create a documented process for obtaining the necessary substances, (c) designate an execution team composed of one or more executioners and any other personnel deemed necessary to effectively and securely conduct an execution, (d) describe the respective responsibilities of each member of the execution team, (e) describe the training required of each member of the execution team, and (f) perform or authorize any other details deemed necessary and appropriate by the director.

(3) The execution protocol shall require that the first or only substance injected be capable of rendering the convicted person unconscious and that a determination sufficient to reasonably verify that the convicted person is unconscious be made before the administration of any additional substances, if any.

Source

Annotations

This section is not an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power. State v. Ellis, 281 Neb. 571, 799 N.W.2d 267 (2011).