In Carson City, the Nevada Assembly voted to bar executions...

In Carson City, the Nevada Assembly voted to bar executions of criminals who are mentally retarded criminals or under age 18. Approved on a 36-6 vote, AB118 would eliminate the state's ability to seek the death penalty in cases where the defendant was less than 18 years old at the time of the crime. 1 man currently on Nevada's death row was convicted as a juvenile. Michael Domingues was 16 in 1993 when he killed Arjin Pechpho, 24, and her 4-year-old son, Jonathan Smith. Under the bill, Domingues' sentence would be commuted to life in prison. The Assembly voted unanimously for AB15, which would prohibit a judge or jury from sentencing a mentally retarded person to death. The chamber also unanimously approved AB14, which gives the defense the opportunity to open and close the arguments during the penalty hearing of a death penalty case. AB14 also adds mental illness to the list of mitigating circumstances that must be weighed when considering whether to impose a death sentence. All 3 bills now move to the Senate for its consideration.