Lawyers defending a man in a capital murder case are challenging Nevada's death penalty law using an unusual argument.
They want a judge in Las Vegas to declare capital punishment unconstitutional because they say the two most powerful Democrats in the state Legislature killed discussion about two measures that aimed to repeal it.
A court filing last week on behalf of Alonso Perez argues that because Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson are deputy Clark County district attorneys, they made sure the death penalty repeal bills never got a hearing.
Perez's assigned lawyers allege that amounts to improper interference in the lawmaking process by the two career prosecutors who serve as part-time legislators.
Cannizzaro and Frierson didn't immediately respond on Monday to messages about the lawsuit.
