LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two Democratic state lawmakers say costly appeals and the inability to carry out a lethal injection mean that Nevada should give up the death penalty.
State Sen. James Ohrenschall and Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo have introduced a bill to add Nevada to the list of 20 states and the District of Columbia that ban capital punishment.
The two lawmakers separately backed a similar measure that died in the 2017 Legislature.
Ohrenschall calls the death penalty a burden on taxpayers, and says killers don't consider it a deterrent.
Nevada hasn't executed anyone since 2006, and the two lawmakers cite court challenges that twice stopped scheduled executions of Scott Raymond Dozier.
Fumo says money spent on mandatory appeals for death row inmates could go instead to schools and education.