BREAKING NEWS: No Lethal Injection Drug Supply in Nebraska.

The Department of Correctional Services confirmed to NET News this afternoon that Nebraska has no drugs with which to carry out a death sentence. 

Responding to email questions NET News submitted this afternoon, Dawn-Renee Smith, the Public Information Coordinator for DOC confirmed that the supply of sodium thiopental acquired by the state expired in December of 2013.  Smith added:  "The Department has not secured additional chemicals."


 

Smith was also asked if the state had identified any new suppliers for the drugs.  In her emailed reply she stated:  "We are looking at all aspects of the lethal injection process. I don’t have anything definitive on that at this time."


The questions followed today's hearing before the Nebraska Supreme Court (reported here earlier) at which the State Attorney General's Office said they were not sure if the a legal source for the lethal injection drugs had been secured. 

Drug Courts: Five things you didn’t know

I'd heard about them but knew nothing about them.

The  past couple of weeks I talked to the judges and staff who run Drug Courts and other problem solving courts in Nebraska.  The people who have been through them have a lot to say too.  They’re promoted as good for the participants, good for the community, and a bargain.  The numbers in studies done both nationally and in Nebraska seem to back that up.

They get a HUGE turnout when they hold Drug Court Graduations. (Photo: Lancaster Co. Court)

Here are five surprising things I learned about them:

1. The people who volunteer to take part start out going back to court every week to report back to the judge.  It’s a weird combination of being talked to by a parent, a psychologist, and a cop who happens to be wearing a judge’s robe.   Every participant gets called up for a chat… in public, so there are no secrets. 
   
2. Only 5% of the people who graduate from a drug court program commit another crime within a year later.  Compare that to 32% who re-offended after being released from a state prison.
3. Even the people who wash out of the program are way less likely to commit a crime after they’ve been through part of the program.  Only about 7 out of one hundred reoffend.
4. Keeping someone in drug court is way cheaper than prison or county jail.  Nebraska spends about $70 dollars a day on every prison inmate.  It costs about $45 dollars a day to house and feed someone in a county jail.  Someone in the Drug Court program costs between $20 to $40 a day.  Individual drug courts around the state set up their own budgets.
5. Participants may get a drug test two or three times a day.  That can be at home, or work, or wherever one of the staff ask them to fill up the cup.  About the worse thing a participant can do is try to cheat a drug test.

Click here to check out the story I filed this morning on NET News: 

Hello

Howard County, Neb. Courtroom

Courtroom trials fascinate me.  Everyone gravitates to an interesting or odd crime story.  And whether it's probate when a family member dies, a divorce, or (and I've been there) having a police officer write you up, everyone ends up with some connection to the legal system.  It took a few years as a reporter, but I figured out that the best way to tell these stories was to sneak in some schooling with whatever makes the headlines.  

That's why this outlet may help me and, hopefully, help you.  We can both learn more about the law and the reasons why things happen the way they do in the courts and in the sheriff's office. 

I’ll share some of the most interesting news from the courts and cops around the state and some background and history about how the system works.  To the best of my knowledge there’s no one else in Nebraska doing it, so NET News decided it was a good niche to fill.  Some of it will be original reporting and some will be part of our daily Signature Story segments on NET Radio.  It should be interesting stuff.