Conservative Nevada Republican Supports Death Penalty Moratorium and Study Sen. Mark James

(R-Las Vegas) is urging the state Assembly to pass a bill that will provide for a moratorium on executions while Nevada's capital punishment system is studied. "[N]ever has the death penalty been the subject of a study in this state that I know of," said James. "Never. And the system is broken." James, who in the past worked on bills to toughen the state's criminal laws, expressed his concern about who receives the death penalty in Nevada. "The Assembly passed a bill unanimously which prohibits racial profiling in traffic stops and yet 40 percent of those on death row are African Americans and nobody says a thing about it." He added, "There is not a single person on death row that had a fully funded private defense. If you're rich, you're not going to get capital punishment - period."

 (Nevada Appeal, 4/21/01)