LAS VEGAS (KLAS)– Families of loved ones who were murdered in Las Vegas are calling a proposal by the Nevada Board of Pardons to commute all the sentences of inmates on death row infuriating, disappointing, and traumatizing.
Moreover, they vow to let state officials know how upset they are on Tuesday.
“It’s a slap in my face. It’s a stab in my back and for all the family members of victims with a person on death row,” Tehron Boldon said. “You just spit in our face.”
Tehron Boldon’s brother Michael died in February of 2013.
His brother’s killer Ammar Harris was sitting on death row awaiting his execution for killing 62-year-old Michael and two others.
Michael’s taxi burst into flames on the strip when Harris shot the driver of another moving vehicle that crashed into Michael’s.
“It’s absolutely not fair, it just makes you relive the whole incident all over again, “Boldon said. “It just replays every time something like this comes up.”
Jennifer Otremba of Las Vegas also disagreed with the state’s proposal.
Her 15-year-old daughter Alyssa was abducted, sexually assaulted, and stabbed more than 80 times while walking home from school in 2011.
Alyssa’s killer, Javier Righetti, was sentenced to death in 2017.
“He didn’t value her life, he didn’t care about her life. Why should we value his?” Jennifer Otremba said. “So, I think he earned his punishment that day, I think that he deserves it.”
The Nevada Coalition Against the Death Penalty applauded the board’s consideration. Monique Normand sits on the coalition’s board; her uncle was murdered in 2017 in Las Vegas.
“I can’t tell anyone how to feel or what to think, but I think that no matter what happens to this person. My loved one is still gone,” Normand said.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson issued a statement to 8 News Now regarding Tuesday’s decision:
“In Nevada, the commutation of any sentence is rare, especially in cases involving a sentence of death. In this situation, the law provides that a person seeking a commutation must apply to the Pardon’s Board and specify several things. I have many concerns regarding this agenda item, including whether all Nevada Laws were followed. I, and my fellow Nevada District Attorneys, are considering several options leading up to the scheduled hearing next Tuesday. Have victims been notified of this attempt to commute the sentence of death on a person who murdered their loved one? Are victims being given a chance to voice their opinions on this matter? These concerns, among others, are being discussed, and all our options are being considered.”
Per Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) 213.120
“The Board will not consider an application for a pardon or the commutation of a punishment submitted by a person sentenced to the death penalty unless the person has exhausted all available judicial appeals.”