All executions in Nebraska since 1903 have taken place within the
Nebraska State Penitentiary. Prior to 1903, executions were handled in the county where the offense took place. From 1903 to 1913, the means of execution was by hanging. From 1913 it had been by the
electric chair until August 14, 2018, when
Carey Dean Moore was executed by a
lethal injection of
fentanyl. A total of 8 inmates were executed by hanging and 15 inmates by means of the electric chair. There have been approximately 68 inmates housed on
death row from 1903 to the present. Death row in Nebraska was housed at NSP from 1903 to 2002 when it was transferred to the
Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. Executions still take place at the Penitentiary. Inmates who receive an execution date would be transferred to NSP approximately within a week of that date and would be housed in the penitentiary hospital on what is called the "death watch." While on the death watch, condemned inmates may have special visits from family, friends, religious representatives and
attorneys. The visits are supervised by staff assigned to the death watch and take place in the suite of rooms set aside for the condemned inmates. Inmates may also request a special "last meal." Such meals must be prepared from food supplies on hand at the prison. ==See also==