“The late addition of a Pardons Board agenda item of this magnitude is unprecedented,” Douglas County District Attorney Mark Jackson said in a statement issued on Friday afternoon.
Historically, the Pardons Board notifies district attorneys, victims and the public at least 30-40 days prior to the scheduled meetings of any proposed actions wherein the board may consider granting applications for pardons or commutations of sentences.
“This noticing process allows district attorneys and victims the opportunity to submit a written statement of the facts surrounding the case for consideration, and any other information affecting the merits of the proposed action of the Pardons Board,” he said.
In addition, the Victims’ Bill of Rights enshrined within the Nevada Constitution guarantees reasonable notice to family members of murder victims of any post-conviction proceeding as well as giving the victims’ family members an opportunity to be heard at the post-conviction proceeding.
“The 11th hour actions by the governor in adding the death penalty commutations to the Pardon Board’s upcoming meeting agenda is unfair to the victims, their families, and the communities where these heinous murders occurred,” Jackson said. “I stand with the other district attorneys across this state in expressing our outrage and disappointment in the governor’s actions. There is a process and place for vetting and debating issues related to capital punishment. This is not it.”
The Board of Pardons consists of the Governor, the Justices of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General. There is one open Supreme Court seat. A simple majority of the 8 members is sufficient to convert 57 death sentences, Washoe County District Attorney Christ Hicks said.
Source: The Record-Courier, Staff, December 17, 2022
DA's Office Files Challenge to Nevada Board of Pardons amid Commutation Discussion
The Nevada Board of Pardons is scheduled to discuss whether to commute all death sentences during a meeting next week.
If approved, those commuted death sentences would be changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The December 20 meeting will consist of Governor Sisolak, the Justices of the Supreme Court and Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford.
Daryl Mack was the last person put to death in Nevada, in 2006, for a 1988 rape and murder in Reno.
There are currently 57 inmates on death row.
Governor Sisolak's office told us, "The Governor believes this is a worthy item for the Commissioners to consider and will be voting in favor of the measure.
"The Governor has always said that capital punishment should be sought and used less often, and he believes this is an appropriate and necessary step forward in the ongoing conversation and discussion around capital punishment."
The Washoe County District Attorney's Office says they are against the change.
In a statement, chief investigator Michelle Bays says, "I believe this action by the Governor, and the process in which it is being reviewed, ignores the complexity of an issue that has and ought to continue to be fairly decided by the people of Nevada. Moreover, it is uncaring to the families of the victims of these cases, whose rights seem to be irrelevant to some."
In a statement, Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks, says his office is strongly opposed to this change as well.
“The Governor’s last-minute requested agenda item violates Nevada’s Constitution and its relevant statutes.
Moreover, it tramples upon the fundamental rights of crime victims and disregards due process in the law. Most importantly, the timing and nature of the added agenda item is an insult to those deceased victims who were tortured, raped, and slayed at the hands of the 57 heinous men on Nevada’s death row.
There is a democratic process to debate and consider issues related to the death penalty.
It has happened multiple times during past legislative sessions in Nevada. However, the proposed categorical elimination of 57 death sentences by a mere majority of an 8-member public body is unjust and undemocratic.
In response, my office filed a formal legal challenge to the agenda item in the First Judicial District Court this afternoon.”
Source: 2news.com, Staff, December 17,02022
🚩 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.
 |  |
Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde