LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says his administration is still pursuing lethal injection drugs for executions but will not decide how to proceed until state officials verify the signatures on a petition to keep capital punishment legal.
Ricketts said Tuesday that he first wants to ensure that Nebraskans for the Death Penalty has collected enough valid voter signatures to prevent the law from being repealed.
Nebraska lawmakers voted in May to abolish the death penalty, overriding the governor's veto. Death penalty supporters responded with the petition drive that sought to halt the repeal before it went into effect and place the issue before voters in 2016.
The group announced last week that it had collected nearly 167,000 signatures. At least 113,883 valid signatures are needed to suspend the repeal.
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