‘Show and tell killer’ seeks clemency

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Friday, June 7, 2002 | 9:16 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sandy Marie Shaw, dubbed the "show and tell" killer after committing a 1986 murder in Las Vegas when she was 15, is going to have to spend at least two to three more years in prison before she has another chance at clemency.

The state Pardons Board Thursday rejected the plea of a tearful Shaw, convicted of the shooting of 21-year-old James C. Kelly.

She earned her nickname because she allegedly bragged about the killing and brought friends to see the body.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, the Pardons Board chairman, told Shaw that she could return in two or three years to ask the board to commute her life sentence to permit her to immediately apply for parole.

Shaw, now 31, won't be eligible for parole until 2009 unless the Pardons Board agrees to reduce her term.

But the board granted clemency Thursday to two other Las Vegas killers, allowing them to seek parole immediately from the board.

Calvin Thompson, sentenced in 1988 to life without the possibility of parole for the killing of rival gang member David Vaughns, had his penalty reduced to allow him to immediately apply for parole.

State Public Defender Steve McGuire, representing Thompson, said the 34-year-old Thompson has a circulatory ailment and has at best two years to live. McGuire said Thompson's mother has arranged for her son to be treated at the Mayo Clinic.

The board also commuted the sentence of Eddie Hampton from life without parole to allow him to approach the Parole Board immediately. Hampton was one of four young men convicted in the killing of 21-year-old Nellis Air Force Base Airman John Brown, who was kidnapped and robbed of $9.

Another defendant in the case, Reginald Hayes, had the murder charges dropped against him after serving 13 years in prison. He was pardoned and is now working in the engineering department at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.

Hayes appeared at the Pardons Board to testify in support of Hampton, saying he was intimidated by the other two young men in the car. Both of them -- Donald Lee and Phillip Minor -- are serving life terms without the possibility of parole.

Shaw originally received two life terms without the possibility of parole, but the sentenced was changed to life with parole. She has been paroled from one life term to another and has spent 15 years, eight months in prison.

Prosecutors said Shaw planned the murder of Kelly to steal $1,400 to bail her boyfriend out of jail.

Several teenagers testified Shaw bragged about the Kelly slaying and took them to view the body. Bill Terry, a Las Vegas attorney representing Shaw, told the board that she went back to the scene of the killing "because she didn't believe it happened."

Terry said Shaw doesn't like being called the "show and tell" killer. He said there's been testimony that Shaw never fired the shots and that her male companions did the actual killing.

Shaw, wiping away tears with a tissue, told the board she "will ever be sad and regretful" for the killing. "I am really sorry," she said and apologized to the brother of the victim, who was in the audience.

Shaw said she has gained a high school diploma and an associate's degree while in prison. She said she has attended numerous rehabilitation programs and teaches computer skills to other inmates. She said she has changed her life.

Kelly's brother George said he felt sorry for Shaw's family but not for her. He urged the board to deny the application.

So did Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Laurent, who argued that Shaw has had four disciplinary write-ups since she last appeared before the Pardons Board in 1997.

Shaw's mother, Connie ,and her brother and sister pleaded for mercy. The mother said, "She's very remorseful for what she has done. (If released) she will be on parole for the rest of her life."

Connie said her daughter has had a tragic life, witnessing a triple murder and a suicide besides being convicted of murder.

In making the motion to deny Shaw, Supreme Court Justice Nancy Becker said she has not served enough time for the crime. Other board members called it a "cold-blooded killing."