In 2019, Nevada passed a law that creates an avenue for people to present new, non-DNA evidence of factual innocence beyond two years after their conviction. Read the statute New Non-DNA Evidence & Changes in Science Effective: 2019 Amended most recently: 2021. The court is required to seal all records relating to the wrongful conviction and grant a certificate of innocence to an exoneree. In addition to monetary compensation, exonerees are entitled to non-monetary services including: payment for the cost of tuition and educational expenses to attend a school within the Nevada System of Higher Education, participation in a state health care program, programs for reentry, counseling services, reimbursement for restitution and any medical care paid for by the person while they were wrongfully imprisoned, housing assistance, and financial literacy assistance. In 2019, Nevada passed a law that provides compensation to exonerees based upon the amount of time the person was wrongfully imprisoned, at a set amount per year of wrongful imprisonment as follows: 1-10 years = $50,000/year, 10-20 years = $75,000/year, and 20+ years = $100,000/year. Nevada's statute meets the best practices standards outlined by the NIST Technical Working Group on Biological Evidence Preservation. Effective: 2009 Amended most recently: 2013. Upon conviction for a class A or B felony, state law requires that any biological evidence collected in the investigation and prosecution of a case must be automatically preserved for the length of an individual’s sentence. Effective: 2003 Amended most recently: 2013. any felony punishable by more than one year of incarceration) may petition the court for DNA testing.
Read the statute Post Conviction DNA TestingĪny person imprisoned for an A or B felony (i.e. All law enforcement agencies shall implement their policies no later than April 1, 2020. In 2019, Nevada passed a law that requires every law enforcement agency in the state to adopt a written policy on electronic recording of custodial interrogations that, at minimum, requires custodial interrogations that occur in a place of detention to be recorded in their entirety for suspects in homicide and sexual assault cases. Read the Clark county policy Read the Washoe county policy Nevada Law Enforcement Agencies in Reform for Eyewitness Identification Recording of Interrogations Clark and Washoe counties have also adopted policies in show-up identification procedures. Since 2015, Clark (including Las Vegas) and Washoe (including Reno) counties, which cover 80% of the state's population, have adopted eyewitness identification policies that include: blind administration, proper fillers, proper witness instructions, witness confidence statements, and a recommendation that lineups be video/audio recorded. State law requires law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies for live and photo lineups and show-ups.