Senate bans minors' executions

The Nevada Senate gave final legislative approval Thursday to the law change barring a death sentence for teens who commit murder before age 18.

AB6 brings the state into compliance with the most recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling saying those who kill when 17 or younger cannot be executed.

But Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, put his protest of that ruling in the record.

Raggio recited the case of Thomas Bean, who killed former Olympic athlete Sonja McCaskie in Reno in the 1960s, dismembering her body and committing sexual acts on her corpse. He was 17 at the time and Raggio was Washoe District Attorney who twice prosecuted Bean, winning a death sentence both times.

That sentence was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court and Bean remains in the Nevada State Prison.

"It's disturbing to me that we have to adopt this now as a law," he said rejecting the high court argument that those under 18 are less emotionally mature and more likely to lose control because their brains aren't yet fully developed.

"The same court has held in cases of abortion juveniles are mature enough to make those decisions," Raggio said. "And juries have always had the ability to take the age and maturity of the defendant into consideration."

He said the ruling is "one more step along the road to eliminating the death penalty."

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, told fellow members stories about the time he was assaulted and nearly killed in the early '60s by a gang including Ken McKenna, who is now on Nevada's death row for other crimes. He also told of the inmate who stabbed and nearly killed his sister-in-law. In both cases, he said he wanted to see the assailants executed.

But Coffin said he would vote for AB6 because "what we didn't know 40 years ago was that their brains were not fully developed."

He said in the case of his sister-in-law, he testified at a parole hearing recently that, 12 years later, that man - now 29 - should be given a chance at parole.

Terry Care, D-Las Vegas, advised the Senate there was no discussion of the merits of the bill in committee because all it does is align Nevada law with the U.S. Supreme Court's mandate issued earlier this year.

The final vote was 15-6 in favor of the bill, which now goes to the governor for his signature. Those who voted no were Republicans Raggio, Joe Heck and Barbara Cegavske of Las Vegas, Dean Rhoads of Tuscarora, Mike McGinness of Fallon and Maurice Washington of Sparks. They were joined by Democrat John Lee of Las Vegas.

n Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.