Board commutes sentences of illegal immigrants

CARSON CITY -- Over the objection of the state attorney general, the Pardons Board voted Wednesday to commute sentences of eight of 22 inmates who are illegal immigrants.

Catherine Cortez Masto said she could not support reducing sentences of any inmate convicted of trafficking in methamphetamine, though the Pardons Board commuted their sentences for the purpose of having them deported.

She said many of the 22 inmates whose sentences were reviewed by the Pardons Board arrived illegally in the United States as children and probably will return should they be deported. All whose sentences were commuted Wednesday were convicted of trafficking in controlled substances.

"If you deport them, they just will come back," Cortez Masto said.

The attorney general mentioned she will join seven other attorneys general from Western states Friday in Jiutepec, Mexico, for a meeting with Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora.

They are scheduled to discuss ways to stop methamphetamine produced in Mexico from flowing into the United States.

Cortez Masto said she could not "in good conscience" vote to commute the sentences of drug traffickers, especially those convicted of dealing meth.

Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta also voted against commuting sentences of all inmates whose sentences were reviewed Wednesday by the Pardons Board, which is led by Gov. Jim Gibbons. Gibbons, Cortez Masto and all seven members of the state Supreme Court make up the board.

In recent months, the Pardons Board has been commuting sentences of inmates who were in the state illegally, turning them over to federal immigration authorities for deportation. Ninety-seven inmates have been deported.

By having them deported, the state saves the approximate $20,000 annual cost of keeping an inmate behind bars in a Nevada prison.

Gibbons in February chose the attorney general to lead his 15-member Methamphetamine Working Group, which recommended legislation to reduce meth use in Nevada. The state ranks first nationally in use of methamphetamine by people 12 and older.

Earlier this week, Cortez Masto said it was important for the United States and Mexico to open a dialogue on methamphetamine and human trafficking.

"Most of the methamphetamine that is illegally distributed in Nevada is manufactured in so-called "super labs" in Mexico, so it is imperative for me to sit down with Mexican law enforcement to discuss ways to keep this drug from ever crossing the border," she said.

None of the eight inmates whose sentences were commuted Wednesday had gotten into trouble in prison.

Pardons Board members rejected commuting sentences of 13 other inmates but split on a 4-4 vote on whether to turn Bernardo Estrada over to the federal government for deportation.

Because he did not receive a majority vote for commutation, Estrada will remain in prison in Nevada.

Justice Ron Parraguirre said that Estrada was convicted of trafficking 8 pounds of methamphetamine and that he could not support giving him any relief.

Estrada has served seven years and seven months of a 10-year to 25-year sentence. The Department of Corrections said he has committed one major and two general disciplinary infractions in the past three years.

Gibbons and three Supreme Court justices voted to commute Estrada's sentence.

"He was a 'mule,' a carrier of drugs, and not the individual who did the actual trafficking," Gibbons said after the meeting.

A state analysis determined Estrada was not a high risk for recommitting crimes, the governor added.

Earlier in the meeting, Supreme Court Justice Jim Hardesty expressed concern because many of the inmates whose sentences were reviewed had been assessed as "medium risks" for recommitting crimes.

Hardesty said that only those inmates considered low risk for recommitting crimes were supposed to be considered for commutation.

Some of the inmates whose sentences were reviewed Wednesday were involved in prison gangs and had committed three major infractions in prison in the past three years.

Hardesty and Chief Justice Bill Maupin joined Gibbons in supporting commutation for Estrada because he was not a seller of methamphetamine.

Justice Mark Gibbons -- who also backed commutation for Estrada -- said that if the inmates who are deported were to return illegally to Nevada, they would be charged with felonies if caught.