Death knell begins for 3-judge panel

Erin Neff

Thursday, March 6, 2003 | 9:24 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Measures that would eliminate the use of three-judge panels and add one mitigating factor in death penalty trials cleared an Assembly committee Wednesday.

Assembly Bill 13, which was introduced by an interim legislative study committee, is also a result of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that only juries can sentence a defendant to death.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee amended AB13 to require that if a jury in a death penalty case cannot reach a decision on life or death, a judge would impose a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

The original bill contained a provision that the judge could impose the sentence or impanel a new jury.

"I'm just happy that we're eliminating the three-judge panel," Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, chairwoman of the interim study committee, said.

Leslie said she thought the measure would pass the Assembly as the committee amended it, and that "some version of it" will pass the Republican-controlled Senate because of the Supreme Court's mandate in Ring v. Arizona.

The amended version of AB13 passed the committee 9-5, with Republicans Sharron Angle of Reno, David Brown of Henderson, John Carpenter of Elko, Jason Geddes of Reno and Don Gustavson of Sun Valley opposing it.

Republicans Garn Mabey of Las Vegas and Rod Sherer of Pahrump supported the bill.

Assembly Bill 14, also introduced by the study committee, was amended to add a new mitigator to the list of options juries can consider to weigh against aggravators at penalty hearings.

The new mitigator, as amended, would allow juries to consider mental illness.

The committee amended the bill to keep one of the aggravators in state law -- to allow juries to consider whether the murder caused great risk of harm to others. The original bill sought to eliminate one of that aggravators.

AB14 also changes the order in which the defense and prosecution argue during the penalty phase of a trial. The bill allows the defense to argue last in the penalty hearing. The prosecution currently argues first and last.

AB14 passed the committee unanimously.

Committee Chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, said he expected the full Assembly to begin voting on the four death penalty reforms that have cleared his committee next week.