Chance at pardon delayed for ‘Show and Tell’ killer

Friday, Jan. 23, 2004 | 11:24 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sandy M. Shaw, convicted of a 1986 murder in Las Vegas when she was 15 years old, didn't get a chance to appear before the state Board of Pardons today.

Keith Munro, legal counsel to Gov. Kenny Guinn, said prison disciplinary charges are pending against Shaw. He said she denies the allegations. The nature of the charges were not disclosed.

"We decided it's best to get this cleared up," before the Pardons Board considers the case, Munro said. Guinn is chairman of the Pardons Board, which includes the attorney general and members of the Nevada Supreme Court.

Shaw, now 32, was sentenced to consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole for the shooting of 21-year-old James Kelly on Sept. 29, 1986. Her sentence was reduced to allow for parole, but she will not be eligible to apply until 2009. She has asked the Pardons Board to be immediately released from prison.

Shaw was nicknamed the "Show and Tell" killer because she allegedly bragged about the murder and took some of her friends to view the body. A co-defendant, Troy Kell, who fired the first shot, is serving two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

There was testimony that after Kell shot Kelly, Shaw told friends that she grabbed the gun and shot the victim in the head. Prosecutors said Shaw planned the murder of Kelly to steal $1,400 to bail her boyfriend out of jail. She said she only asked her companions to slap Kelly around because he had been annoying her.

Another co-defendant, Billy Merritt, received a 10-year term for conspiracy and has been released from prison.

The Pardons Board two years ago rejected Shaw's application to be made immediately eligible for parole. Guinn told her then she could return later to seek relief.

While in prison she has gained a high school diploma and an associate's degree and she told the board at the prior hearings that she has changed her life.

The board will meet again in six months.