Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Lawmakers abandon plan for two-year death penalty moratorium

Sun Coverage

CARSON CITY – The Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections has abandoned a plan to impose a two-year moratorium on the death penalty in Nevada.

Instead, the committee voted for Assembly Bill 501 to have a legislative study on the cost of prosecuting and handling appeals in death penalty cases compared to non-death penalty murder cases.

Committee Chairman Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, said a moratorium is moot. He noted prison officials say they can’t carry out an execution because the drug used during the death penalty isn't available. There are also questions about whether the death chamber at the Nevada State Prison is usable.

The last execution in Nevada was in April 2006.

The original bill called for the two-year moratorium, but that was taken out by the committee. The bill now goes to the Assembly.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy