Saturday, February 26, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

ASSEMBLY PANEL: Death penalty bill heard

Measure would prohibit use of capital punishment for those age 16 and 17

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, listens Friday to testimony in Carson City in opposition to her bill that would prohibit use of capital punishment for those age 16 and 17. Photo by CATHLEEN ALLISON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARSON CITY -- A lawmaker renewed her efforts Friday to ban the death penalty for those who commit crimes before age 18, saying life in prison without parole is adequate punishment.

"That means they will spend an eternity in prison, and not be relieved from their actions until death," said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas. "The death penalty is not a deterrent, especially with youthful offenders who don't think further than today, let alone think about the consequences."

Giunchigliani made her comments to the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Assembly Bill 6, which would change Nevada law to prohibit the use of capital punishment for those age 16 and 17.

The panel took no action on the measure.

A similar bill passed the Assembly in 2003, but failed to pass in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Giunchigliani said young teens are not as mentally developed as adults and so should not be subjected to the ultimate penalty.

"There is now clear biological evidence that adolescents do not have the same ability as adults to make sound decisions and to prevent impulsive behavior," she said.

Also testifying for the bill was Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Pescetta, who spoke as an individual, not as a representative of his office.

Thirty-one states do not allow the execution of juveniles, with South Dakota and Wyoming being the most recent two states to outlaw the practice, he said.

Lawmakers recognize that juveniles are too immature to buy alcohol, smoke or vote, Pescetta said.

"There is no difference, I would submit, between the immaturity of those choices and the immaturity of the choice to commit an offense," he said.

Testifying against the bill was Ben Graham, representing the Nevada District Attorneys Association. The youth of the defendant in a capital murder case can be a factor presented to a jury in favor of a punishment less than death, he said.

"It's very, very rare that we would ask for a death penalty for a younger person," Graham said. "It's quite rare that we ask for the death penalty under any circumstance in this state."

Nevada has one death row inmate who was under 18 when he committed his crime. Michael Domingues was 16 in 1993 when he killed a woman and her 4-year-old son in Las Vegas when they returned home during a robbery.

Giunchigliani's bill would be retroactive to Domingues' case, converting it to life without parole.

Nevada has not executed any inmates who were under 18 when their crimes were committed since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977.

The decision on executing juveniles could be taken out of the hands of the Legislature. The U.S. Supreme Court last fall heard a case involving the juvenile death penalty in a Missouri case. The court has not yet issued its ruling.