State gives three convicted killers shot at paroles

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002 | 9:22 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Three prison inmates convicted of different murders in Clark County in the 1980s won clemency from the state Pardons Board Wednesday, but they won't be turned loose immediately.

Ethel Callier, 54, and Teresa Walker, 47, both convicted of killing their husbands, and Joseph Alario, 65, a French citizen convicted of killing a man in a drug deal, were allowed by the board to appear before the state Parole Board, probably in February, to plead for their release.

Callier has served more than 18 years for the 1981 decapitation murder of her husband, Floyd, in an alleged plot to collect on his insurance. She received a life term without the possibility of parole.

Callier's attorney, Glynn Cartledge, said the inmate had a good prison record and suffers from severe heart and kidney problems. Callier has maintained she is innocent.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, chairman of the Pardons Board, said Callier should have a chance to go before another board to seek release.

"Twenty years of impeccable service -- that's what we want," Guinn said.

He said allowing her to go before the Parole Board will give her a "little bit of hope."

In many cases, the Parole Board denies release in the first appearance by an inmate who has received clemency from the Pardons Board.

State Supreme Court Justice Nancy Becker said she did not think the time spent in the prison system and the good conduct should be a reason to reduce the sentence. In this case, Becker said Callier killed her husband to get his insurance.

The board, composed of the governor, attorney general and seven members of the Supreme Court, voted 6-3 to reduce her term to allow her to apply immediately for parole. Those opposing were Justices Becker, Myron Leavitt and Deborah Agosti.

Cartledge said outside the hearing that Callier's boyfriend put up $150,000 after she was convicted to post for her bail to be released pending appeal. She said the money was given to Carson City attorney James Wessell, who gambled it away. Wessell was eventually disbarred. Callier was never freed on bond.

The board unanimously approved the request of Walker, who was sentenced to consecutive life terms. She has served 15 years. Walker's lawyer, Christina Hinds, said Walker was a victim of spousal abuse.

Hinds said Walker was "fully rehabilitated" in the prison and has "kicked her drug addiction."

Walker told the board she shot her husband but was in a state of "very emotional distress." She said she lied to the police at first but told the truth on the witness stand.

Clark Peterson, chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, opposed both applications.

The board voted unanimously to grant clemency to Alario, sentenced to life in prison without possibility for parole in 1983 for a murder in a drug transaction. His lawyer, Public Defender Harriet Cummings, told the board the "purpose of incarceration" has been served.

In the last 10 years in prison, Alario has had one disciplinary infraction, Cummings said. She said he is in bad health and suffers from memory loss. If he is released by the Parole Board, Alario will be deported to France where he will spend the rest of his life.

Cummings said Alario would be under supervision of the French, would not have a passport and would not be able to return to this country.

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