Death penalty debate reemerges in Nevada after past stalls

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada legislative committee introduced a proposal Wednesday to end the death penalty with nearly identical language to a 2019 bill that stalled and never received hearings in the state Senate or Assembly.

Lawmakers who oppose the death penalty say they're confident that 2021 is the year they will finally carry the effort across the finish line.

They have campaigned to end the death penalty in the past two legislative sessions, only to see their efforts thwarted before reaching the floor for a vote.

Assemblyman Steve Yeager, a longtime anti-death penalty advocate, hopes recent litigation that forced Nevada to return drugs that are part of its lethal injection combination — along with pushes to end the death penalty in other states — will convince lawmakers the proposal should be voted on.

“I know we’d like to have a hearing. That’s the plan at the moment. Of course, it’s subject to everything else going on in the building,” the Las Vegas Democrat said, referring to the way the pandemic has slowed the pace of legislative activity.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee's bill would remove provisions of state law that allow people found guilty of first-degree murder to be sentenced to death.

Although about 80 inmates remained on its death row as of 2020, Nevada has not executed anyone since 2006. The state has faced difficulties procuring lethal injection drugs. Last year, a state court ordered the Department of Corrections to return drugs used as part of Nevada's lethal injection combination. The department has a batch of fentanyl that expires on June 30, but does not posses the other two drugs called for in its execution protocol.

Death penalty opponents hope the growth of the criminal justice reform movement and renewed attention on the death penalty will generate enough...