Condemned killer receives temporary stay

Thursday, April 12, 2001 | 11:19 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Condemned killer Thomas Nevius smiled as he was hugged by some of his supporters after the state Pardons Board temporarily stayed his execution Wednesday to allow for more examinations to determine whether he is mentally retarded.

But the daughter of the man Nevius was convicted of killing said the stay translates only into more heartache. "It should be over with," said Katheryne Cadlish. "It's been 20 years. I just want it to be finished."

"Why should he (Nevius) live when my father is dead?" Cadlish asked during the 4 1/2-hour hearing earlier Wednesday. She was referring to David Kinnamon, who was shot to death in Las Vegas when he returned home to find four men ransacking the house and attempting to sexually assault his wife.

"I didn't hurt nobody, Nevius told the board. "I was there. But I didn't hurt nobody. I feel bad for my family and their family."

"I'm not a threat to nobody," he said, referring to his behavior in prison.

During the hearing about 30 people paraded in front of the legislative building with signs that read, "Don't kill Thomas" and "Let Thomas live."

The Pardons Board accepted the motion of its chairman, Gov. Kenny Guinn, that additional examinations of Nevius should be conducted to "clarify" whether he is mentally retarded.

The Nevada Legislature is processing bills to impose a two-year moratorium on the death penalty and to bar the execution of mentally retarded persons.

The governor said he wants to ensure that independent psychiatrists or psychologists conduct the examinations. Four examinations have been conducted recently -- two for the defense and two for the prosecution. All have resulted in different results, ranging from findings that Nevius is retarded to another that states he suffers from no mental deficiencies.

Guinn directed Carlos Brandenburg, administrator of the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services, to submit names of those who might perform the evaluation. Brandenburg said after the hearing that he would send seven names of those he believes are objective and credible.

This number of doctors, to be reduced later, will come from the universities or private practice, Brandenburg said.

Nevius received support for the commutation of his death sentence from his sister and former girlfriend. Carolyn Pierce, his sister, said her brother "does not have the capacity to murder." She said he had a "very rough" childhood and that their mother "treated Tom like nothing but dirt."

"There were lots of times there was no food in the house."

Wanda Johnson, identified as a childhood sweetheart of Nevius', said, "If he was there (at the crime) and he was a part of it, he should be punished. But don't kill him."

Nevius' defense team was led by Federal Public Defender Franny Forsman and Assistant Public Defender Michael Pescetta, who argued that the prison inmate was mentally retarded and lawyers never had the opportunity to present this to any court because of procedural bars. They also claimed that it was never proven conclusively that Nevius was the one who fired the four shots at Kinnamon as the intruders fled through a window.

Forsman said six of the jurors who sentenced Nevius to death believe it would have made a difference if they had known about his mental retardation. Pescetta told the board, "You should not kill somebody ... with a child's brain."

Opposing the commutation were Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell and Chief Deputy David Roger, who said Nevius was a two-time killer and had been through the court system for 20 years, costing millions of dollars. Bell said, "If you vote for clemency, you are saying there is a fundamental flaw in the judicial system." Every court has upheld the conviction, as high as the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bell said it would set a "terrible precedent" to grant a reduction to a life term without the possibility of parole.

Roger said, "He (Nevius) may not have the highest IQ, but he's not mentally retarded."

Nevius has scored anywhere from 64 to 78 on examinations that test for mental retardation. Below 70 is considered to be in the mentally retarded range, according to documents supplied to the board.

Brian Lahren, director of the Washoe County Association of Retarded Citizens, and David Schmidt, a clinical neuropsychologist at UNLV, testified in support of Nevius. They backed the defense's case that Nevius tested well within the range to be classified as mentally retarded.

Roger said there is a two-pronged standard that must be met before a person can be classified as mentally retarded. He said the person must be measured on how he adapts to or functions in society. The chief deputy said that, while in prison, Nevius has sent many coherent messages to the administration.

He also referred to a statement Nevius made to the jury during his penalty hearing that showed he knew what was going on and was even eloquent.

That bothered some members of the Pardons Board who wanted to know how Nevius could present a good statement to the jury and yet still be found to be mentally retarded. Defense psychologists said Nevius could still be mentally deficient, even though he made a presentable statement to the jury.

Justice Bob Rose, a member of the Pardons Board with other members of the Supreme Court, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Guinn, suggested there was an "imperfect penalty hearing" because no evidence was presented that Nevius was mentally retarded. He said this information likely would have resulted in a lower penalty if it had been presented.

Rose said the courts were precluded from doing anything because of procedural bars. But Bell differed with Rose, saying the prosecution would also have been allowed to present evidence to show that Nevius was not mentally retarded.

Bill Landrey, a cousin of the victim, said the fatal shooting of Kinnamon became a "nightmare" for his mother. Landrey said Kinnamon's wife, Rochelle, was "another victim. It ruined her life. she needed psychiatric help. Her life never straightened out." Rochelle died of cancer about three years ago.

As a teenager, Nevius was convicted in the fatal shooting of a rival gang member in Philadelphia and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. But he served only five years, then escaped from a half-way house.