Editorial: 'Good Samaritan' bill has problems

Anyone with a sense of decency deplores David Cash Jr.'s inaction in the murder of Sherrice Iverson, who was killed in a Primm hotel-casino over the Memorial Day weekend in 1997 by Jeremy Strohmeyer.

The rape and murder of the 7-year-old in a women's restroom was vicious, sickening Nevadans and the rest of the nation. Adding to the disgust is that Cash saw the attack as it began but left the restroom where it happened without trying to intervene or call for help. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported last week that Cash told two friends he saw Strohmeyer molest Iverson, but District Attorney Stewart Bell said it's not against the law to see a crime occur and not report it.

Some thought Cash should be charged with a crime for failing to come to the aid of Iverson, but Nevada doesn't have a law allowing prosecution for failure to aid a person being victimized. Nevada, like most other states, doesn't have a "good Samaritan" law.

In response, Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, will seek to expand a Nevada law that requires police, teachers, counselors, doctors, child-care workers, clergy and lawyers to report any child abuse or neglect situations.

But the problem, as many criminal experts have said, is that even the best of intentions can sometimes make for bad law. Such is the case with this proposal. A number of problems were identified in a story by Sun reporters Cy Ryan and Bill Gang last week:

-- Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, is concerned about providing protection for innocent witnesses who may have to put their own lives in jeopardy if they witness a crime.

-- Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, backs requiring a witness to report a crime, but believes it's wrong to put these witnesses in "harm's way" by mandating intervention when a crime is happening.

-- Washoe District Attorney Richard Gammick also worried that this law ironically could hurt prosecutions, noting that threatening a witness with arrest won't help in getting his testimony. "We can't prosecute witnesses because they didn't report anything. Then we don't have any witnesses," Gammick said.

Despite the concerns, many state legislators believe that a "good Samaritan" bill will pass easily during the 1999 Legislature. But Perkins must adequately address the potential problems already identified and make sure that a "good samaritan" law doesn't end up backfiring on the Legislature.

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