Originally published in Associated Press.
“It’s a burden to taxpayers,” said state Sen. James Ohrenschall, who is sponsoring the bill with Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo. The two lawmakers separately backed similar measures that failed in 2017.
“Folks committing heat-of-passion crimes or calculated crimes don’t look at a state sentencing structure,” Ohrenschall said. “Bottom line, I don’t believe it has proved to be a deterrent.”
The law would add Nevada to the list of 20 states and the District of Columbia that ban capital punishment.
“In effect, we don’t have the death penalty in Nevada,” Fumo said. “This just codifies it.”
The state hasn’t carried out an execution since 2006, and the two lawmakers pointed to court challenges that twice stopped scheduled executions of Scott Raymond Dozier.
“We’ve seen the drug companies go to court to block their products from being used, and win,” Ohrenschall said.
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