High court rejects Las Vegas man’s death row appeal

Tuesday, Dec. 14, 1999 | 9:53 a.m.

The high court ruled Monday against Charles McNelton, sentenced to death for the murder of Monica Glass, 16, in May 1989. McNelton shot Glass, who was a crack cocaine dealer, once in the head for competing with his half-cousin's drug trade in Las Vegas.

McNelton argued that his lawyers, both at his trial and on his appeal, were ineffective.

In other action Monday, the Supreme Court:

Kenneth Standley, sentenced to nine years in prison, accepted the agreement after District Judge Jeffrey Sobel told him many defendants decided after they had been convicted at trial that they should have taken a plea bargain offered by prosecutors.

Chief Justice Bob Rose complained the decision is unfair to gay couples and unmarried heterosexual couples who should be allowed to sue for damages over the loss of loved ones.

The majority ruling, written by Justice Bill Maupin, prevents Kellie Grotts of Clark County from filing a lawsuit against Gertrude Zahner to claim emotional distress damages over an accident. John Colwell, Grotts' fiance, was killed in the accident.

Maupin said that as a general proposition, only family members related by blood or marriage qualify to sue for emotional distress. When the family relationship is beyond the immediate family, he said a fact-finder should determine whether the relationship qualifies.

Deloris Beckwith injured her back while attempting to move a mahogany table on the job. While two doctors refused to clear her to work, company officials insisted she return. When she failed to do so, the company replaced her with another employee.

When she returned a month after the accident, Beckwith, 64, was demoted and eventually given an entry-level sale position at a 40 percent reduction in pay. She had been earning $41,000 a year before the accident.