Rap lyrics key to appeal in slaying case

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 | 9:59 a.m.

Jurors in the trial of a man prosecutors portrayed as a "thrill killer" should never have heard the lyrics to a rap song he wrote, his appellate attorney said Monday.

Defense attorney David Schieck told Nevada Supreme Court Justices Myron Leavitt and Deborah Agosti that not only did prosecutors fail to turn over the lyrics to Tony Amati's defense attorneys ahead of time, but also that the lyrics are protected under the First Amendment.

For that reason and others, Schieck argued, Amati's conviction should be overturned and he should be granted a new trial.

The justices heard Amati's request Monday among a number of appellate issues in both civil and criminal cases. They are expected to make their decisions within the next few months.

Prosecutors alleged Amati went on a random shooting spree over a four-month period in 1996 using weapons he had stolen from a gun supply store. Three people were killed and a fourth one injured in three separate incidents.

Amati, then 22, went to trial in December 1999 and was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Pizza Hut worker Keith Dyer and the attempted murder of Stacie Dooley, Dyer's friend.

Amati was acquitted in the other slayings.

Schieck argued Monday that jurors were unduly prejudiced during Amati's trial when prosecutors read into the record lyrics from a song Amati wrote.

The song is set in the cell of a man in jail on a first-degree murder charge. One of the lines in the song is "Shouldna pulled the trigger and killed that man."

"It's our position that the First Amendment protects this sort of authorship," Schieck said.

Moreover, Schieck said, Amati's attorneys knew of the lyrics ahead of time and asked for them repeatedly, but they didn't turn up until the middle of the trial, leaving them little time to prepare.

Schieck also complained about the language used by Deputy District Attorney Christopher Lalli during opening arguments.

Lalli's use of the phrases "something wicked" and "quenching his thirst for death" put the defense attorneys "behind the eight ball from the very first," Schieck said.

Schieck said jurors also were influenced by an FBI agent who twice mentioned that Amati was on the agency's 10 Most Wanted list at the time of his arrest in Georgia.

Lalli told the justices he did nothing wrong in his opening argument, because he was referring to the evidence in the case and Amati's motive -- not his character.

As for the song lyrics, Lalli said, he tried desperately to locate them before the trial. He was told repeatedly by the FBI they had been returned to Amati's family. It was only during the trial he learned they were still available.

The lyrics were not offered as evidence against Amati's character, but to show his admission of guilt, Lalli said.

Prosecutors didn't intend to let jurors know that Amati was on the FBI's list, Lalli said. The FBI agent offered that information without prompting.

Lalli asked the justices to affirm Amati's conviction.

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