Nebraska Strikes Down Electrocution

The Nebraska Supreme Court declared electrocution unconstitutional on Friday, Feb. 8, striking down the electric chair in the only state that still used it as its sole method of execution.

In a 6-1 ruling, the Court said evidence shows that electrocution inflicts "intense pain and agonizing suffering" and that "(electrocution) has proven itself to be a dinosaur more befitting the laboratory of Baron Frankenstein than the death chamber" of state prisons.

Get more coverage on the InCASE blog, "End of Nebraska's Electric Chair." Also see New York Times Legal Columnist Adam Liptak's analysis here: "Electrocution is Banned in Last State to Rely on It."