High court overturns hearing in murder case

Thursday, April 29, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Wednesday stopped Clark County District Judge Michael Cherry from holding another hearing on the appeal of Patrick Cavanaugh, sentenced to death for a Las Vegas murder in 1980.

The court overturned the ruling of Cherry, who ordered an evidentiary hearing on Cavanaugh's third petition for a writ of habeas corpus. It said the new petition raises issues that have already been decided or should have been raised in prior proceedings.

After Cherry granted the hearing, the Clark County district attorney's office and the state attorney general's office appealed to the Supreme Court to stop it.

Cavanaugh is now expected to carry his appeal to the federal courts.

Cavanaugh was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Nathaniel "Buster" Wilson, who apparently was going to inform police that Cavanaugh was involved in a fraudulent scheme to buy furniture with forged checks.

Wilson was shot in the face but survived for several hours. Cavanaugh then cut out Wilson's vocal cords and shot him twice more in the head. He cut off the victim's hands and feet and used acid in an attempt to remove the prints from the victim's fingers and then disposed of the remains in several locations.

One of Cavanaugh's claims in his new petition includes an affidavit from a juror who says the jury would not have sentenced Cavanaugh to death had it been told that he would have had to serve at least 20 years in prison if he received a life without parole term.