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State And Federal Info

Nevada

History of the Death Penalty

Nevada was the first state in the United States to use the gas chamber, and executed 32 men with that method from 1924-1979. All executions in Nevada since 1979 have been carried out by lethal injection.

Famous Cases

In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was introduced, as Nevada sought a more humane way of executing its inmates. Gee Jon was the first person in the United States executed by lethal gas. The state tried to pump cyanide gas into Jon’s cell while he slept, but this proved impossible, and the gas chamber was constructed.

In 2010, Ronnie Milligan was released from prison after 20 years on death row. Doubts concerning Milligan’s guilt were also raised after a letter written by an eyewitness at his trial, Ramon Houston, was discovered. In the letter, Houston indicated that he killed the victim. The letter also disclosed that Milligan, who testified at his trial that he was in an alcoholic blackout at the time of the crime, was not even at the scene when the victim was killed. Another co-defendant signed an affidavit saying that Milligan was not present during the killing, and that everybody involved conspired against him when they learned he had no memory of that day. Expressing “grave reservations” about Milligan’s guilt, District Judge Richard Wagner sentenced Milligan to a term of life with the possibility of parole and determined that Milligan was immediately eligible for parole.

Notable Exonerations

Roberto Miranda spent 14 years on death row before his conviction was reversed. A witness, Fernando Cabrera, claimed he drove with Miranda to Manuel Rodriguez Torres’ house and waited outside. Cabrera had motive to frame Miranda because Miranda was having an affair with his girlfriend. At trial, Miranda had been represented by an attorney with one year’s experience who had inherited the case when his colleague died. In overturning his conviction, Clark County Senior District Judge Norman Robison wrote: “The lack of pretrial preparation by trial counsel … cannot be justified.”

Interesting Facts

In 1913, Nevada invented an “automated firing squad” comprised of three rifles mounted on an iron frame that fired simultaneously. It was used once, in the execution of Andriza Mircovich.

The last inmates at Nevada State Prison were removed in January, 2012, but the state’s execution chamber remains there.

Valley of Fire State Park.  Photo by Jackie Royall.
Valley of Fire State Park. Photo by Jackie Royall.

Resources

  • Department of Corrections
  • Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty
  • Advisory Council for Prosecuting Attorneys
  • Public defender’s office
  • Victims’ services

Nevada Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Intellectual Disability

Dec 14, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of December 7, 2020

NEWS (12/​11/​20) — Texas: The U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the con­vic­tions and death sen­tences imposed on 

Intellectual Disability

Dec 07, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of November 30, 2020

NEWS (12/​4/​20) — Nevada: The Nevada Supreme Court has over­turned the death sen­tence imposed on Mexican for­eign nation­al Carlos Gutierrez

Arbitrariness

May 18, 2020

Capital Case Roundup — Death Penalty Court Decisions the Week of May 18, 2020

NEWS (5/​22/​2020) — Washington, D.C.: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has stayed the issuance of its man­date in the fed­er­al exe­cu­tion-pro­to­col lawsuit 

Lethal Injection

Apr 07, 2020

News Brief — Drugmakers Drop Lawsuit as Nevada Returns Unused Execution Drugs

NEWS (4/​7/​20) — Nevada: A tri­al-court judge in Las Vegas has dis­missed a law­suit filed by drug­mak­ers against the Nevada prison sys­tem after state offi­cials agreed to return unused drugs it had obtained under false pre­tens­es in a failed att…

News Brief — Drugmakers Drop Lawsuit as Nevada Returns Unused Execution Drugs

Sentencing Data

Feb 09, 2020

News Brief — Four Penalty Phases in Conclude in One Week, With Three Life Sentences and One Death Recommendation.

NEWS (2/​10/​20): Jurors reached penal­ty-phase ver­dicts in four cas­es dur­ing the week of February 4 – 10, 2020, return­ing three life ver­dicts and one death sen­tence. On February 4, Jamaal Smith was sen­tenced t…

Mental Illness

Oct 17, 2019

ABA Urges Nevada Supreme Court to Bar Death Penalty for People with Severe Mental Illness

The American Bar Association has urged the Nevada Supreme Court to pro­hib­it the use of the death penal­ty against peo­ple who are severe­ly men­tal­ly ill. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed October 3, 2019 in the ca…

ABA Urges Nevada Supreme Court to Bar Death Penalty for People with Severe Mental Illness

Sentencing Data

Oct 07, 2019

Death Penalty News and Developments for October 7 — October 13, 2019

NEWS — October 11: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has affirmed a Nevada dis­trict court’s deci­sion to uphold death-row pris­on­er Zane Floyd’s…

Innocence

Sep 06, 2019

Nevada Man Convicted by Prosecutorial Misconduct and ‘Woefully Inadequate’ Defense Counsel Released After 33 Years on Death Row

Thirty-three years after a tri­al a fed­er­al appeals court described as ​“a mix­ture of dis­turb­ing pros­e­cu­to­r­i­al mis­con­duct and woe­ful­ly inad­e­quate assis­tance of coun­sel,” a Las Vegas tri­al court freed Paul Browning (…

Nevada Man Convicted by Prosecutorial Misconduct and ‘Woefully Inadequate’ Defense Counsel Released After 33 Years on Death Row

Foreign Nationals

May 22, 2019

Two Foreign Nationals Receive New Trials as U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear State Death-Penalty Appeals

Two for­eign nation­als who were sen­tenced to death in unre­lat­ed cas­es will receive new tri­als after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear appeals of low­er court rul­ings over­turn­ing their con­vic­tions. Jose Echavarria (pic­tured, le…

Two Foreign Nationals Receive New Trials as U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear State Death-Penalty Appeals

Recent Legislative Activity

Mar 15, 2019

NEW VOICES: Prosecutors in Colorado and Nevada Call for Death-Penalty Repeal

Two pros­e­cu­tors with dif­fer­ent philo­soph­i­cal per­spec­tives on cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment have called on their respec­tive states to abol­ish cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. Boulder County, Colorado, District Attorney Michael Dougherty (pic­tured, left), …

NEW VOICES: Prosecutors in Colorado and Nevada Call for Death-Penalty Repeal
View More

View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 12
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 61
  • Current Death Row Population: 70
  • Women on Death Row: 0
  • Number of Innocent People Freed From Death Row: 2
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 1
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): July 1, 1973
  • First Execution After Reinstatment: 1979
  • Location of Death Row (Men): Ely State Prison
  • Location of Death Row (Women): Carson City
  • Location of Executions: Nevada State Prison
  • Capital: Carson City
  • Region: West
  • Population: 2,700,551
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 9.1
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder?: Yes
  • Method of Execution: Injection
  • How is Sentence Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Board or advisory group determines clemency
  • Governor: Steve Sisolak

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