In Carson City, an Assembly panel has approved a bill...

In Carson City, an Assembly panel has approved a bill requiring Nevada judges to sentence murderers to life without the possibility of parole if a jury can't decide a sentence.
AB13, which moved on a 9-5 Judiciary Committee vote to the full Assembly, eliminates 3-judge panels for sentencing hearings on death penalty cases, a practice the US Supreme Court has deemed unconstitutional.
The measure was approved on a split vote by the Judiciary Committee.
The committee also approved AB14, which would have eliminated one of the aggravating factors the state needs to seek the death penalty. The committee's action preserves the aggravating factor of creating "a great risk of death to more than one person."