DA argues that killer shouldn’t be spared death

Wednesday, April 4, 2001 | 11:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Condemned killer Thomas Nevius is not mentally retarded and does not deserve commutation of his death sentence for killing a Las Vegas man and assaulting his wife, the Clark County district attorney's office says.

Nevius, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney David Roger, "possessed all the skills to be a functioning member of a lawful society." His claim to being mentally retarded is "nothing more than a final effort to save his life," said Rogers, who suggested Nevius might be faking on his IQ test or suffering depression that could skew the results.

Roger filed his brief this week with the state Pardons Board, which will meet April 11 to decide whether to grant the petition to reduce the death penalty because Nevius is mentally retarded. Two psychologists who examined Nevius for the defense suggested he had the mind of an 8-year-old, even though he is 44.

In July 1980 Nevius and three other men entered the home of David and Rochelle Kinnamon in Las Vegas. David was at work and Rochelle was watching television shortly before midnight. The four intruders ransacked the apartment. Nevius and another man dragged Rochelle into the bedroom and began sexually assaulting her, but all four fled out the window when David came home. Nevius fired four shots that hit David, who was killed by a bullet that struck him in the head.

In 1971 when Nevius was 15, he shot and killed a rival gang member in Philadelphia. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and spent time in a juvenile detention facility. He told a judge he had trouble reading but denied having any mental health problems.

At his trial in Las Vegas, Nevius was found mentally competent to stand trial by two psychiatrists. Roger said the facts show Nevius knew right from wrong when he entered the home, tried to rape Rochelle Kinnamon, who has since died, and fired four shots at David Kinnamon. Nevius testified in his own defense and was "relatively articulate " in his answer to questions, Roger said.

Nevius also addressed the jury at the penalty phase hearing in order to escape the death penalty. "Applicant gave a commendable argument in his personal effort to convince the jury to spare his life," said Roger, who added Nevius "was a criminal defendant who had a very keen understanding of the criminal justice system."

Mental retardation is classified as having an IQ level of 50-55 to about 70, said Roger. As a teen, Nevius was measured at 64 and 78 and was placed in special-education classes. Roger said a federal court found that these IQ tests were racially and culturally biased on black children who should not be placed in special education classes.

As a result of being placed in the special-education class, Roger said the academic growth of Nevius was stunted. The inmate has obtained a high school equivalency diploma and also received diplomas in welding, air conditioning and refrigeration. he said.

"A low IQ test score alone does not prove that a person is mentally retarded," Roger said. The diagnostic criteria, Roger said, requires that the individual suffer from a significant lack of adaptive behavior, which Nevius does not.

Roger said Nevius recently petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of his execution and to review his case because he is mentally retarded. The court, Roger said, had all the information provided to the Pardons Board. The court declined to accept the case. Weeks later, however, the court decided to examine a North Carolina case involving a mentally retarded man who was to be executed.

"It is obvious the high court did not find a sufficient factual basis to support applicant's claim that he is mentally retarded," said Roger.