Nebraska has life without parole.  A 3 judge panel decides the sentence.  An executive panel, which includes the Governor, has the power to grant clemency. Nebraska is the only state that does not offer lethal injection as an alternative method of execution.


In 1999, Nebraska became the first state whose legislature passed a moratorium on executions.  The bill was vetoed by the governor.  The legislature also approved funds for a study of how the death penalty is applied.  The governor also vetoed that bill, but the legislature unanimously overrode the governor's veto.  There have been no executions in Nebraska since the study began.

In 2001 Jeremy Sheets was exonerated and released from death row after charges were dropped in the murder conviction after the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Statements made by a codefendant implicated Sheets and were deemed by the Court as highly suspect and inadmissable following the suicide of the codefendant.