Wednesday, April 28, 2021 | 2 a.m.
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Joe Neal
There’s a great chapter in state Sen. Joe Neal’s biography about his fight to end the death penalty. John L. Smith describes Neal — who died Dec. 31 at age 85, having served from 1973 to 2004 in the Nevada Legislature — often alone, pushing his legislative colleagues to consider the issue. Smith explains how other legislators “had heard his arguments against the death penalty for a decade, had written them off as politically impractical or rejected them on personal philosophical grounds.” But Neal, the state’s first Black state senator, never gave up.
His efforts would be picked up and carried on by later generations of legislators, like Bernie Anderson, Sheila Leslie and Chris Giunchigliani over the past few sessions. James Ohrenschall, first in the Assembly and now as a state senator, has shown courage and conviction by pushing abolition bills.
There is a long history of Nevada heroes in the cause to abolish the death penalty, and I was thinking about them and their tireless efforts last week as the Assembly voted to abolish the death penalty, with a unanimous show of support from the Assembly Democrats. This was history in the making, building off of decades of work, and reflecting great leadership from Judiciary Chair Steve Yeager and Speaker Jason Frierson.
It reflected the fact that views of the death penalty are changing. In the decades since Nevada enacted its current statute, researchers have concluded that the death penalty does not deter people from committing crimes. The reality of the death penalty’s effect on victims — asking them to suffer decades of litigation and uncertainty for an unlikely sentence — has become apparent. And its cost and unreliability have become undeniable.
The vote also reflected that Nevada is changing. The voting coalition that elects Democrats is trending younger and more diverse. This state might not be deep blue, but it’s not purple, either. These are voters who understand that Black lives matter, that racism infects our criminal justice system and that police and prosecutors need to be accountable.
Abolishing the death penalty won’t solve these problems. But it’s a crucial start. And the Assembly was right to approve this bill, as should the state Senate and the governor. The death penalty is immoral, and we need to end it.
In 1977, when the Nevada Legislature approved our current death penalty statute, Neal had this statement entered into the Journal of the state Senate: “The time has come to abolish the death penalty once and for all! It discriminates against our poor! It discriminates against our minorities! It does not deter the commission of capital crimes!” After almost 45 years, it’s time for Nevadans to take these words to heart.
Tick Segerblom represents District E on the Clark County Commission.
