LINCOLN, Neb. — A bill to ensure more transparency in the death penalty has won first-round approval from Nebraska lawmakers after prison officials blocked the view of public witnesses while carrying out an execution in 2018.
Lawmakers gave the measure first-round approval on a 33-7 vote. The bill would bar the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services from obscuring the view of witnesses during an execution. It would also require at least two state legislators to serve as witnesses.
State law already requires witnesses from media outlets to be present. Prison officials faced criticism after they pulled the curtains over the media's viewing window for 14 minutes near the end of inmate Carey Dean Moore's execution.
