No Path Forward: Nevada's Death Penalty
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22 NEV. L.J. 1005
No PATH FORWARD: NEVADA'S DEATH
PENALTY
By Randolph M. Fiedler*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1005
I. FURMAN, GREGG, AND NEVADA: GUIDED JURY DISCRETION........... 1008
A. Nevada's Death Penalty Before Furman................................... 1009
B. Furman and Nevada's Failed Death Penalty............................ 1011
C. Gregg and the End of the Supreme Court's Moratorium.......... 1012
D. Nevada's Narrowed Death Penalty...................................... 1014
II. THE DECLINE OF NARROWING AND THE RISE OF PROSECUTORIAL
DISCRETION...................................................................................... 1015
A. The Supreme Court's Retreat from Regulating Aggravating
Circumstances........................................................................... 1016
B. Nevada's Expanding Aggravating Circumstances.................... 1019
C. The Rise of Prosecutorial Discretion........................................ 1022
CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 1024
INTRODUCTION
In 2021, Nevada did not abolish the death penalty. This was not for lack of
interest. The policing protests of 2020 brought renewed interest in ending sym-
bols of racism and reforming criminal justice; the pandemic-related budget cri-
sis meant legislators were looking for ways to cut costs.' Abolishing the death
penalty-an expensive punishment that historically and contemporarily reflect-
* Randolph M. Fiedler is a public defender in Las Vegas, representing death row inmates in
their state and federal post-conviction proceedings. He is also Vice President of the Nevada
Coalition Against the Death Penalty and a past president of Nevada Attorneys for Criminal
Justice. The views expressed here are solely mine. I wish to thank Brittany Paloma Fiedler
for her helpful feedback on this article and life; I also wish to thank the following individuals
for sharing their thoughts on early drafts of this article: Ryan Aikin, David Anthony, Mark
Bettencourt, Scott Coffee, and Stacy Newman. Finally, I want to thank the editors at the Ne-
vada Law Journal for their time and assistance on this article.
1 See, e.g., Michelle Rindels, Death Penalty, Use of Force and Bail: The Top Criminal Jus-
tice Reform Issues on Tap in the Legislature, NEv. INDEP. (Feb. 7, 2021, 2:00 AM),
https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/death-penalty-police-use-of-force-and-bail-the-top-
criminal-justice-reform-issues-on-tap-in-the-legislature [https://perma.cc/F9VQ-5Y7L].
1005](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/nevlj22&div=30&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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No Path Forward: Nevada's Death Penalty
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