Prosecutors pausing execution warrant requests for two death row inmates

Prosecutors are pausing execution warrant requests for two death row inmates from Clark County, making it unlikely that the defendants will be executed this year.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson announced in April that his office would seek execution warrants for Donald Sherman, 62, Zane Floyd, 50, and Sterling Atkins, 52.

Prosecutors formally asked judges to sign off on execution warrants for Floyd and Sherman in May, but have not requested a warrant for Atkins since the announcement.

The district attorney’s office has formally agreed to a stay of Sherman’s case while awaiting the resolution of related litigation. That stipulation was disclosed in a July 9 court filing.

Assistant District Attorney Alex Chen said Wednesday that in the near future, attorneys will file a formal agreement to stay Floyd’s case, as well.

One of the Nevada Supreme Court cases in which the two sides are watching for a decision deals with whether it is unconstitutional for the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners to deny capital inmates access to clemency. The other case claims Nevada’s execution manual is an invalid regulation.

Both have been before the high court since 2025, and other litigation involving Sherman and Floyd continues.

Chen said his office believes the defendants have already exhausted their appeals.

“However, this will be one thing where we can have them finish this litigation and then really, we believe, there can’t possibly be anything further that they could argue to delay this,” he said.

It is unlikely that Sherman or Floyd will be executed this year, he added.

Both men are convicted murderers who have spent decades behind bars.

Floyd killed four people at a Las Vegas Albertsons supermarket in 1999.

Sherman bludgeoned a retired doctor to death with a hammer in 1994 while the victim slept in his Sun City Summerlin home. At the time, Sherman was on parole for a previous killing.

A hearing was scheduled for Thursday in Sherman’s case, but has since been canceled.

Prosecutors agreed to delay a hearing scheduled for June 30 in Floyd’s case until August.

Assistant Federal Public Defender David Anthony, who represents Sherman and Floyd, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Scott Coffee, a retired public defender with extensive experience litigating death penalty cases, praised the decision to pause the litigation.

“It’s good to see that the district attorney’s office is taking these cases seriously and that they recognize that there are procedural issues involved in virtually every one of these cases that need to be resolved before they move forward with an execution,” he said.

The length of such a stay is unpredictable because attorneys do not know how quickly the Supreme Court will rule, Coffee added.

“The wheels of justice turn slowly, and this is a typical example of how these death penalty cases drag on,” said David Roger, who served as Clark County district attorney before Wolfson and helped prosecute Sherman. “There are those who say that we should not have capital punishment in the state because it takes so long to execute the inmates, but it is the defense attorneys who strategically file motions at the last minute in order to prolong an individual’s life.”

He added: “I’m not suggesting that they are wrong in doing so, but I think people need to understand that it is not prosecution and not law enforcement that is prolonging these capital cases.”