USA - Nebraska. Governor Suspends Efforts to Obtain Death Penalty Drugs.

Governor Suspends Efforts to Obtain Death Penalty Drugs. Nebraska's governor says the state will stop trying to obtain lethal injection drugs until voters decide whether to keep capital punishment. A statewide vote is scheduled for November 2016. The state has been struggling to import 2 drugs that are required for its lethal injection protocol. Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts said Friday that his administration will also wait to carry out executions. No executions had been scheduled. Lawmakers abolished capital punishment in May over Ricketts' veto, but a statewide petition drive gathered enough signatures to suspend that decision and put the issue on the ballot. Nebraska bought $54,400 in foreign-made drugs from a distributor in India, but the federal government has said they can't be imported legally. Ricketts says he's also talking with state officials about changing the drug protocol.