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CARSON CITY (AP) — Lawmakers raised questions Thursday about plans to replace the Nevada State Prison’s old death chamber — described by a former NSP warden as “almost medieval” — with a new one near Las Vegas.
The proposed execution building, near the High Desert Correctional Center north of Las Vegas, was discussed during a Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee hearing on a $62 million prison system project that also includes a medical center which accounts for most of the cost.
State Corrections Director Howard Skolnik said the old death chamber at NSP, located in Carson City, needs to be replaced for many reasons — including the fact that the 9-by-12-foot chamber, entered through a submarine-type door, is more than half a century old.
Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, asked why a new execution chamber would be built more than 200 miles from Ely State Prison in eastern Nevada, where more than 80 condemned inmates are held on death row.
Smith also said that if Nevada State Prison is kept open, despite Skolnik’s initial efforts to have it shut down and replaced by a new southern Nevada prison, it may not make sense to build another death chamber elsewhere.
Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, suggested a new execution structure might not be needed since Nevada doesn’t have that many executions. Twelve men, all but one of whom refused appeals, have been executed in Nevada since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for capital punishment to resume in 1976. Nevada’s last execution was in 2006.
Skolnik said that unless some of the current death row inmates waive their appeals, the next execution in Nevada “probably will be later” rather than sooner. But he also said he doesn’t anticipate court decisions doing away with capital punishment.
Lawmakers earlier this session considered a bill to impose a moratorium on the death penalty pending a study of capital punishment, but the moratorium wording was dropped.
Skolnik also said it makes more sense to have executions in southern Nevada than at the Ely State Prison since it’s easier to move one condemned convict from there to the new execution location than to bring official witnesses, media, family members of victims and others to Ely.
Prison officials have been trying for several years to replace the old death chamber, located in a crowded corner at NSP, and each time they try the price goes up.
In 2003, for example, there was a plan to spend $237,000 to build a new execution area at NSP, and that was reduced to about $75,000 or even less by using inmate labor. But that proposal went nowhere.
This time, the execution facility that’s part of the $62 million project being reviewed by lawmakers has a base construction cost of $1.7 million. There are additional costs for design work, security fencing and other improvements needed for both the execution building and the medical center.
If the death chamber is replaced, it won’t be the first time. Two and possibly three other locations at NSP were used previously. The current chamber has been used 23 times, starting in 1950.
The proposed execution building, near the High Desert Correctional Center north of Las Vegas, was discussed during a Senate-Assembly budget subcommittee hearing on a $62 million prison system project that also includes a medical center which accounts for most of the cost.
State Corrections Director Howard Skolnik said the old death chamber at NSP, located in Carson City, needs to be replaced for many reasons — including the fact that the 9-by-12-foot chamber, entered through a submarine-type door, is more than half a century old.
Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, asked why a new execution chamber would be built more than 200 miles from Ely State Prison in eastern Nevada, where more than 80 condemned inmates are held on death row.
Smith also said that if Nevada State Prison is kept open, despite Skolnik’s initial efforts to have it shut down and replaced by a new southern Nevada prison, it may not make sense to build another death chamber elsewhere.
Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, suggested a new execution structure might not be needed since Nevada doesn’t have that many executions. Twelve men, all but one of whom refused appeals, have been executed in Nevada since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for capital punishment to resume in 1976. Nevada’s last execution was in 2006.
Skolnik said that unless some of the current death row inmates waive their appeals, the next execution in Nevada “probably will be later” rather than sooner. But he also said he doesn’t anticipate court decisions doing away with capital punishment.
Lawmakers earlier this session considered a bill to impose a moratorium on the death penalty pending a study of capital punishment, but the moratorium wording was dropped.
Skolnik also said it makes more sense to have executions in southern Nevada than at the Ely State Prison since it’s easier to move one condemned convict from there to the new execution location than to bring official witnesses, media, family members of victims and others to Ely.
Prison officials have been trying for several years to replace the old death chamber, located in a crowded corner at NSP, and each time they try the price goes up.
In 2003, for example, there was a plan to spend $237,000 to build a new execution area at NSP, and that was reduced to about $75,000 or even less by using inmate labor. But that proposal went nowhere.
This time, the execution facility that’s part of the $62 million project being reviewed by lawmakers has a base construction cost of $1.7 million. There are additional costs for design work, security fencing and other improvements needed for both the execution building and the medical center.
If the death chamber is replaced, it won’t be the first time. Two and possibly three other locations at NSP were used previously. The current chamber has been used 23 times, starting in 1950.
