Tell Nevada lawmakers: The death penalty needs to go!
- da: U.S. Campaign to End Death Penalty
- destinatario: Nevada State Legislators
Nevada's death penalty is not making our communities any safer. It's time to end it once and for all. Sign the petition: tell state lawmakers to end Nevada's death penalty.
The death penalty puts innocent people at risk. At least three people have been released from Nevada's death row after serving decades for crimes they didn't commit. And the Nevada Supreme Court found prosecutorial misconduct in nearly half of the death penalty appeals it reviewed over a 10-year period.
The death penalty retraumatizes victims' families. Death sentences drag on for 20 years on average, forcing families to relive the worst day of their lives over and over. Many have said that what they need are resources like grief counseling and housing assistance.
The death penalty is racist and arbitrary. Black Nevadans make up 10% of the state's population but nearly 40% of death row, and where a homicide happens often determines whether someone gets the death penalty. Clark County has historically been a national leader in death sentences, while homicides in other counties rarely result in a death sentence.
State lawmakers convene in February and are already hearing from constituents about 2027 priorities. Make sure they hear from you that Nevadans are ready to move past the death penalty. Add your name to tell Nevada lawmakers: Abolish the death penalty now.
I am writing to urge you to end Nevada's death penalty once and for all. The death penalty system puts innocent lives at risk, retraumatizes victims' families, wastes millions of taxpayer dollars, and disproportionately targets Black people—all without making our communities any safer.
Death penalty cases in Nevada are fraught with errors that put innocent people at risk. The Nevada Supreme Court found prosecutorial misconduct in 47% of death penalty cases that it has reviewed on direct appeal in a recent 10-year period. Nearly half of Nevada's death sentences have been overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct or other serious legal errors. And at least three people have been released from Nevada's death row after serving decades for crimes they did not commit. As long as the state has a death penalty, there is a very real risk of executing an innocent person.
Death penalty cases retraumatize victims' family members. Death sentences in Nevada take on average 20 years to resolve, forcing victims' families to relive the worst day of their lives over and over in court and in the media while waiting for an execution that may never happen. Many families have told us that what they need are resources like mental health services and grief counseling, and resources such as assistance for housing, transportation, health and child care.
The death penalty wastes taxpayer dollars. Nevada's State Legislative Auditor found that prosecuting death penalty cases costs more than half a million dollars more per case than prosecuting murder cases that don't seek the death penalty. Considering that there are approximately 50 cases pending at the trial level in Clark County, it is costing Nevada taxpayers millions of dollars every year to perpetuate a system that doesn't improve public safety. The state would be better off investing scarce public safety dollars on more effective crime prevention strategies and using these resources to address the state's backlog of unsolved rapes and murders.
Nevada's death penalty is also rife with racism and geographic arbitrariness. Close to 40% of the state's death row is Black despite Black people only accounting for 10% of the population. Clark County has historically been a national leader in death sentences, while homicides in other counties rarely result in a death sentence, even for similar crimes.
Please take steps towards ending this ineffective, discriminatory, and error-prone policy which fails to advance any of its objectives. Thank you for your consideration.
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