Second appeal denied in killing at LV hotel

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court has dismissed a second appeal by William Witter, sentenced to death in the fatal stabbing of a man in the parking lot of a Las Vegas hotel.

Witter's appeal claimed his attorneys were ineffective during his trial and first appeal.

The court said a defendant must show both that an attorney's performance was deficient and that it prejudiced the defense. In this case, Witter's defense was not prejudiced by the conduct of his lawyers, the court said.

Witter was convicted of the fatal stabbing of a man on Nov. 14., 1993, in the parking lot of a Las Vegas hotel. The man was stabbed by Witter several times after coming to the aid of his wife, whom Witter was sexually assaulting. Witter was convicted of attempted sexual assault.

Witter said his defense attorney, on his first appeal, was ineffective when he failed to argue that the District Court judge erred in a challenge to a potential juror.

The juror, under questioning, first told the defense lawyer that he could not consider possible mitigating evidence that Witter had a bad childhood. Later, the juror told the judge he would consider such evidence.

The District Court denied a defense motion challenging the selection of the juror. The Supreme Court said the juror should have been removed if he was unable to consider evidence of Witter's childhood.

But it noted the juror later said he could consider this evidence. "If a potential juror's responses are equivocal or conflicting, this court defers to the trial court's determination of the juror's state of mind," the Supreme Court's decision said.

"We conclude that Witter was not prejudiced by appellate counsel's failure to raise this issue because the trial court acted within its discretion in finding that the potential juror's statements as a whole showed that he would fairly consider the evidence."