Nevada

Nevada

COSTS: Death Penalty Cases in Nevada Cost $200K Extra, Just for Defense

Posted: April 16, 2012
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A recent study of the death penalty in Nevada compared the costs of defending capital and non-capital murder cases. The study, conducted by Dr. Terance Miethe of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, looked at the time spent by defense attorneys at various stages of a case. The study’s findings included:
- Clark County public defense attorneys spent an average of 2,298 hours on a capital murder case compared to an average of 1,087 hours on a non-capital murder case--a difference of 1,211 hours, or 112%.
- Defending the average capital murder case in Clark County cost $229,800 for a Public Defender or $287,250 for appointed counsel. The additional cost of capital murder cases was $170,000 to $212,000 per case compared to the cost of a non-capital murder case in the same county.
- The 80 pending capital murder cases in Clark County will cost approximately $15 million more than if they were prosecuted without seeking the death penalty. More results below.

DPIC RESOURCES: New State Pages Now Available

Posted: November 16, 2011
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DPIC is pleased to announce the completion of our State Information Pages for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  These state profiles provide historical and current information on the death penalty for each state, including famous cases, past legislative actions, and links to key organizations and state officials.  For frequently updated information, such as execution totals, the size of death row, or the number of exonerations, see our State-by-State Database.  Readers are encouraged to send additional information, pictures, and links to organizations in their state.  You can reach the State Information Pages through the "State by State" button at the top of every page on our website or under the "Resources" tab in our main menu.

COSTS: Nevada Senate Approves Bill to Study Death Penalty Costs

Posted: June 01, 2011
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On May 28, the Nevada Senate passed a bill authorizing an audit of the cost of the state's death penalty.  By a vote of 11-10, the Senate called for the legislative auditor to compare the costs of prosecution and appeals in capital cases to non-death penalty cases, examining the cost of defense lawyers, juries, psychiatric evaluations, appellate and post-conviction proceedings. The auditor would also examine the cost of an execution, including the costs of facilities and staff. The report would be due Jan. 31, 2013. Nevada has not had an execution since April 2006, and has 77 inmates on death row. The bill originally called for a moratorium on executions, but prison officials said they did not presently have the drugs to carry out an execution anyhow.  The bill now goes back to the Assembly.

Growing Death Penalty Caseload for One Nevada County Causing Cost Concerns

Posted: April 29, 2011
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Clark County, Nevada, has more pending death penalty cases per capita than any other urban county in the country. According to a review by Nevada Attorneys for Criminal Justice (NACJ), Clark County (Las Vegas) currently has 80 trials in which prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.  By comparison, Maricopa County in Arizona has the most pending death cases (130), but it has twice the population of Clark County.  Los Angeles County, California, has 33 pending death penalty cases, with 5 times Clark's population. Recently, the cost of the death penalty has become a concern for state legislators. Assemblyman Tick Segerblom is promoting a legislative study on the costs of capital cases in Nevada. He said, "At this point it's a financial issue. David Roger is over budget, and yet he has 80 death penalty cases pending. Washoe County only has one. Why is he wasting our money pursuing the death penalty when there is no money and it's virtually impossible to actually put someone to death?" Other studies estimate that death penalty trials cost $1 million more than trials in which the prosecutors seek life without parole. "The cost of killing killers is killing us," said Paola Armeni, president of NACJ.

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