Nevada has the death penalty, but it hasn’t carried out an execution in nearly two decades. One major complaint shared by both corrections officials and criminal justice advocates alike is a far too short timeline to actually prepare for an execution.

But a new proposal from Sen. James Ohrenschall (D-Las Vegas) could help change that.

SB350, which passed out of the state Senate in April on a party-line 13-8 vote with Republicans opposed, would lengthen the time frame to carry out an execution after a judge issues a judgment of death — the legal order setting out the time for an execution. Current law requires the date to be set between 60 to 90 days after the judgment is issued; Ohrenschall’s bill would (as amended) change it to 120 to 180 days, and only allow for one pending execution warrant at a time.

Although Nevada has not actually carried out an execution since 2006 and has no pending active death warrants, Ohrenschall said the changes in the bill would give correctional officers more time to prepare and for legal representatives to litigate any issues that arise around the execution process.

“The current statutory timelines … lead to a lot of unpredictability … that are not beneficial for the families of victims, for persons on death row, for the attorneys, for the judiciary,” Ohrenschall said during a May hearing in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. 

Even as other states have banned capital punishment amid concerns about wrongful convictions, racial disparities, and the high costs of capital cases going to trial, prior efforts to reduce or entirely ban the use of capital punishment in Nevada have failed. After legislators, including Ohrenschall, have been unsuccessful in their previous attempts to abolish the death penalty, the bill is a different approach to reforming the process. 

Just two sessions ago, a bill that would have abolished the state’s death penalty passed the Assembly but failed to advance in the Senate despite unified Democratic control, with Gov. Steve Sisolak saying there was “no path forward.” A year later, a Carson City District Court judge blocked a request from Sisolak to reduce the sentences of all Nevada’s death row prisoners to life in prison. 

Nevada remains one of 27 states that permit capital punishment and with 59 individuals on death row, it has the 10th most death sentences of any state.

The bill passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Friday along party lines, with an amendment to shorten the timeline to between 120 and 180 days in response to some concerns from prosecutors and corrections officials. 

Although SB350 wouldn’t abolish the death penalty, advocates say that it is a step in the right direction. 

“I think a part of this bill is bringing it in line with what the reality has been,” Mark Bettencourt, the executive director of the Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty, said during an interview with The Nevada Independent.

An execution “just doesn't happen” in two weeks 

Nevada Department of Corrections Director James Dzurenda testified that the current timeline violates the NDOC’s execution manual — a more than 60-page document that details procedures from the medical equipment used to transport to the state execution chamber in Ely. 

Bill presenters called the first provision of the bill, which would extend the time frame after the issuance of a first warrant, more of “a formality,” as a mandatory right to a direct appeal is already built into state law, meaning that after a first death warrant is issued, it is automatically stayed for the Nevada Supreme Court to review.

Rather, the bill takes more of a direct aim at the issuance of a second death warrant. If for any reason a judgment of death has not been executed and remains in force (such as in the case of a stay), the court may draw a new warrant, which must be carried out between 15 days and 30 days after its order. 

Having to operate on such quick notice, Dzurenda said that NDOC is constantly preparing staff for an execution just in case one is announced — leading to what he called “wasted taxpayers’ money.” He said it led to additional overtime costs — a problem which has already led to a $53 million budget shortfall. 

“There's no way that you can actually train staff to do an execution within two weeks,” Dzurenda said in a hearing. “It just doesn't happen.”

The state has also long struggled to acquire the drugs needed for lethal injection, as the pharmaceutical industry has sought to limit the use of their products in executions.

In the high-profile case of Nevada death row inmate Scott Dozier, who waived his right to further appeals, a lawsuit brought by pharmaceutical companies blocked the planned execution just hours before it was scheduled to take place in 2018. It sparked a lengthy legal battle, ended after Dozier died by suicide in early 2019.

Dzurenda said the extended timeline would give the state more time to find the drugs needed for an execution.

“To be able to delay the process at the beginning, allows us more time,” he said. 

Dzurenda expressed concerns about significantly extending the execution timeline after the warrant is issued, saying that it can lead to heightened anxiety from staff and offenders. The constant delays in Dozier’s case, for example, led to a significant decline in his mental health, according to his lawyers.

Legal implications

The extended timeline would also give defense attorneys more time to litigate certain issues that can only be contested after a death warrant is issued, such as the method of execution or an assessment of an inmate's mental competency.

“The final stages leading to an execution that can trigger a lot of important legal events,” Christopher Peterson, the legal director for the ACLU of Nevada, said in an interview. 

While not explicitly noted in the bill, advocates said it would give individuals more time to apply for commutation — the reduction of the death sentence to life imprisonment — through the Nevada Pardons Board, which can only be sought after all other post-conviction appeal options have been exhausted.

But the Pardons Board only meets quarterly, meaning the current time frame doesn't give individuals sentenced to death enough time to apply for commutation. 

“Folks aren’t even getting an opportunity to be commuted,” Bettencourt said in an interview.

Peterson added that the extended timeline would give lawyers more time to know what practices and procedures the state intends to use for an execution, which can differ from the state’s execution manual in ways that aren’t always clear until after the warrant is issued. Drugs used by the state for lethal injection, for example, often change according to their availability, Peterson said.

The Nevada District Attorneys Association, which opposed the bill, raised process concerns about the timeline — saying it could be used as a delay tactic.

The state, the association contended, already has a lengthy and robust process for people to challenge their sentence.

“This bill will not make anything easier on victims,” Jennifer Noble, a representative for the Nevada District Attorneys Association, testified during a bill hearing.

Peterson and other criminal justice reform advocates contend that the state should take its time on cases literally involving life and death.

“There's a lot of process related [things], but it really comes down to the gravity of what we're doing,” Peterson said. “If we're gonna kill somebody, the least we can do is give them all the process available.”

Updated at 1:42 p.m. on 5/16/2025 to reflect an amendment and that SB350 passed out of committee.