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November 16, 2009

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High court overturns Carson man’s conviction in plot to kill wife

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

The high court ruled in favor of Allen Dwight Wood, who is serving a term of up to 33 years for the 1996 attack on Lisa Wood. Justices said out-of-court statements that implicated him were improperly admitted at his trial.

However, the Supreme court rejected Wood's claim that Nevada's "fast-track" criminal appeal process is unconstitutional. The system was set up to speed appeals and reduce a big backlog of court cases.

Wood was convicted of attempted murder, soliciting a murder and conspiring to commit a murder. All three convictions were overturned by the court.

Justice Bill Maupin dissented, saying he would have upheld Wood's convictions for attempted murder and conspiracy. Despite problems with witness statements - including lies by most of the witnesses - he said there was overwhelming evidence of Wood's guilt.

Two teen-agers said they were pressured by Wood to kill his wife. One of them, Brian Bardin, was tried as an adult and wound up with a 5-year prison term for trying to kill the victim.

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