Appeal denied in Wham contract killing

Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002 | 8:42 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A man on death row since 1984 for the contract killing of a Las Vegas nightclub owner lost his fourth appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court on Tuesday.

In his appeal, John O. Snow claimed that the names of other suspects in the killing were in the possession of Metro Police and that the names were not provided to him for use at his trial.

The Supreme Court upheld District Judge Lee Gates, who declined to hold an evidentiary hearing on Snow's claim.

"Moreover," the court said, "to the extent that appellant is making a claim of actual innocence, appellant's claim is not credible."

Snow, 60, was paid several thousand dollars in 1983 to kill Harry Wham and was sentenced to death. Wham's wife, Peggy, received two life sentences without parole. Peggy's lover, Joseph Parker, and his brother, John Parker, received life terms with the possibility of parole.

Peggy Wham died in 1998 and the Parker brothers were paroled in 2001.

In another decision Tuesday, the court denied the appeal of Christopher G. Williams, serving a life term without the possibility of parole for the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Monica Wilkins in the desert outside Las Vegas in 1992.

In his appeal, Williams said his attorney rendered ineffective assistance at his trial. The court rejected that claim.