Death Penalty News

LAS VEGAS — A man who once stood as the youngest person on Nevada’s death row has officially transitioned from a life behind bars to a life under supervision, following his release from High Desert State Prison last month. Edward Michael Domingues, 49, was released on parole on Feb. 13, 2026. His freedom marks the end of 32 consecutive years of incarceration for the 1993 murders of Arjin Chanel Pechpho and her 4-year-old son, Jonathan Smith. Since his release, the case has ignited a renewed debate over Nevada’s victim notification systems. Tawin Eshelman, the mother and grandmother of the victims, confirmed that the family was never formally notified of the parole hearing that led to Domingues' freedom.

HENDERSON, Nev. (DPN) — A Henderson woman will spend the rest of her life behind bars after admitting to the drowning deaths of her two young children, according to court records and local authorities. Jovan Trevino, 33, reached a plea agreement with Clark County prosecutors to avoid a potential death sentence. Under the terms of the deal, Trevino pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and waived her right to a trial.  A judge subsequently sentenced her to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man who was sentenced to death for killing a 15-year-old girl died by suicide inside a Nevada state prison, according to the Clark County Coroner’s office. Staff at Ely State Prison found Norman Belcher, 49, unresponsive last Thursday, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.  The cause of death was hanging, according to the Coroner’s office.

Convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith's agonizing death on gurney left people wary of the new punishment, our first-of-its-kind poll reveals Voters are divided over the use of nitrogen gas in state executions, according to the first poll on the controversial method since it debuted in Alabama last month on convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith.

A California man facing the death penalty in connection with 2 January homicides was indicted on Friday in connection with a 3rd killing east of downtown Las Vegas. Jesus Gonzalez, 42, had previously been charged in the fatal shootings of 37-year-old Ashleigh Figearo and 39-year-old Jose Soto. On Friday he was indicted in connection with the fatal stabbing of 61-year-old Cynthia McClelland, who was found dead inside a burning apartment on the afternoon of Jan. 9. All 3 victims were found dead in a span of less than 24 hours in and around the downtown area.

It’s been more than two years since the Clark County district attorney’s office announced it would seek a warrant of execution for death row inmate Zane Floyd, who was convicted of killing four people inside a Las Vegas grocery store in 1999. Although prosecutors said Floyd had exhausted his federal appeals, the process has continued with efforts from federal public defenders to stay the execution or commute his sentence. The Nevada Supreme Court has yet to rule on two of Floyd’s appeals — one where lawyers presented oral arguments in April, and another where the final written briefs have been submitted for over a year.

On Wednesday evening, Gov. Sisolak added an item to the agenda for the Board of Pardons’ upcoming meeting on Tuesday, in an effort to commute all sentences of death for murderers previously convicted and sentenced to death in Nevada before the governor’s term of office expires in a few weeks. “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 addit...

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Melissa Lee comforted her son and daughter after a student opened fire in their suburban Kansas City high school, wounding an administrator and a police officer stationed there. Then weeks later, she wept for the parents in Uvalde, Texas, who were forced to bury their children after the massacre there in May. She said she was “absolutely” reassured when she learned her district had since purchased one of the panic-alert systems gaining traction nationwide amid a surge in school violence that includes shootings and fights. The technology, featuring wearable panic buttons or mobile phone apps, enables teachers to notify each other and police in the event of an emergency. “Time is of the essence,” said Lee, whose son helped barricade a classroom door and watched police enter his school with guns drawn. “They can hit a button and, OK, we know something’s wrong, you know, really wrong. And then it puts everybody else on high alert.” Multiple states now mandate or encour...

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty for a man accused of killing a 4-year-old boy whose body was found in a freezer at a Las Vegas home. Brandon Toseland, 36, was arrested Feb. 22 after the body of his girlfriend’s son, Mason Dominguez, was found at his northeast valley home. Mason’s mother, 28-year-old Dahsia Maldonado, has said that Toseland physically abused her and held her captive for months until she was able to sneak a note to school officials with her 7-year-old daughter. In April, Chief Deputy District Attorney Michelle Fleck said prosecutors were considering pursuing capital punishment in the case. On Thursday, they filed a formal notice announcing their intent to seek a death sentence, court records show. Fleck declined to comment on the case on Monday. Toseland’s defense attorney, Craig Mueller, did not reply to a request for comment. Toseland has pleaded not guilty to murder; three counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment resulting in substantial bodily harm...

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a man and woman accused of killing their 8-year-old son, who drowned last year after suffering a large head wound. In a notice of intent to seek the death penalty filed last week by prosecutors John Giordani and Pamela Weckerly, more than two pages detailed the numerous cuts, bruises and abrasions found all over Isaiah Gritz’s body. Prosecutors confirmed they were seeking the death penalty at an arraignment hearing Monday morning for Isaiah’s parents, Christina and Leon Gritz. During a preliminary hearing in July, Justice of the Peace Amy Chelini said she had never seen a child abuse case “as bad as this.” “I don’t think there was an inch of that kid’s body that didn’t have a scar on it,” Chelini said, according to court transcripts. Leon Gritz’s defense attorney, Sarah Hawkins, declined to comment on the case on Monday. Christina Gritz’s defense attorneys did not reply to a request for comment. The Clark County coroner’s office in Apri...

A federal judge is set to decide soon if he will dismiss death row prisoner Zane Floyd’s challenge to his execution. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware said last month that the challenge from the quadruple convicted killer could be dismissed now that some of the drugs the state intended to use in the lethal injection cocktail have expired. Boulware gave Floyd’s lawyers and attorneys with the Nevada Department of Corrections 3 weeks to submit motions arguing whether the case was moot. But court documents filed Monday show that attorneys on both sides agree on one aspect of the case. “While the parties have respectfully but strenuously disagreed on most everything over this case throughout the past year, on this issue they show a united front: this case is not moot,” wrote Chief Deputy Attorney General Randall Gilmer. Attorneys for the prison system asked Boulware to rule on multiple challenges Floyd has raised regarding the Department of Corrections’ execution protocol. Floyd has chal...

As more ‘technological’ methods have proved grisly, some states are considering shooting prisoners instead Six years ago, a man on death row in Nevada named Scott Dozier said he wanted to give up his legal fight and be executed, but there was a problem. Prison officials couldn’t find lethal injection drugs. Amid the ensuing legal turmoil, Dozier tossed off his own solution, telling me during an interview, “I’d have been just as happy if they took me out back and shot me.” Dozier’s death, in 2019, was ruled a suicide, but now his words seem prescient. On Thursday, South Carolina scheduled the execution of Richard Moore – convicted of murder in a 2001 convenience story robbery – for 29 April. Because state officials say they have not been able to secure lethal injection drugs, they will give him the choice between the electric chair and the firing squad. Officials have now spent $53,000, by their own estimate, to renovate part of a prison to allow a three-person firing squad to carry out...

Bills to increase secrecy in the conduct of executions have met different fates in Florida and Idaho. Florida legislators on March 7, 2022 gave final legislative approval to a bill that would conceal the identity of execution participants, including suppliers of execution drugs. Meanwhile, a similar measure in Idaho passed the House of Representatives but failed on a tie vote in a Senate committee on March 9. Supporters of the secrecy bills have asserted, without evidence, that they are necessary to protect drug suppliers from perceived harassment or intimidation. Opponents argue that the secrecy bills are actually designed to prevent drug companies from learning whether their medicines have been obtained in violation of their distribution policies and are being misused to execute prisoners. They also argue that secrecy provisions impair public oversight of death-penalty practices and prevent the public from holding states accountable for botched executions and misconduct in obtaining ...

On Monday, the federal trial over the state's execution protocols will begin. Lawyers for several death row inmates will argue that the state's use of the drug Midazolam creates an "unacceptable risk of serious pain and undue suffering". On top of that, lawyers will try to prove that the state has 3 readily available alternatives to its current lethal injection protocol. The 3 alternative methods for execution the lawyers recommend are as follows: - Removal of paralytic and addition of fentanyl: Using fentanyl as a pre-medication and eliminating vecuronium bromide from the lethal injection cocktail - Barbiturate plus opioid: A single dose of pentobarbital or sodium thiopental, with a predose of an analgesic opioid like fentanyl - Death by firing squad Pentobarbital and sodium thiopental had previously been used by the state in executions, but shortages over the last decade have forced the state to look for other drugs like Midazolam. The shortages of pentobarbital and...