High court rejects appeal of killer of 4 people in Omaha

The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and death sentence of a man who killed four people in Omaha shortly after leaving prison in 2013.

Nikko Jenkins pleaded no contest in 2014 to killing four people in three separate random attacks around Omaha. He was sentenced to death in 2017 after years of delays over concerns regarding his mental health.     

Among the arguments Jenkins’ attorneys made is that the trial court abused its discretion in accepting Jenkins’ no-contest pleas in a death penalty case. The Douglas County Public Defender office also argued the court was wrong to allow Jenkins to represent himself.     

The state’s high court said Friday it could not find that the trial court had abused its discretion. The high court also rejected Jenkins’ claim that the state’s death penalty as unconstitutional.