Murphy discharged from prison

By Matt Pordum (contact)

Friday, April 29, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

Sandy Murphy had her discharge papers signed Thursday morning at the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Center and will not serve any prison time for stealing Ted Binion's silver.

The Nevada Department of Corrections ruled that due to credit for good time already served Murphy had already served the maximum end of the one to five year prison sentence District Judge Joseph Bonaventure imposed for her convictions of robbery and grand larceny.

On Nov. 23 a Clark County jury acquitted Murphy and Rick Tabish in connection with millionaire casino mogul Ted Binion's death. The jury found the duo guilty of conspiring to commit burglary and/or larceny as well as guilty of burglary and grand larceny, however, in connection with their plot to steal Binion's horde of silver.

District Judge Joseph Bonaventure sentenced Tabish and Murphy to one to five years in prison each for the silver theft.

The department said that on top of the 1,406 days of credit for time served Murphy received from Bonaventure for the time she had spent in prison after she and Tabish were convicted in 2000 of killing Binion she was also entitled to an additional 561 days of credit for good time served.

The Nevada Supreme Court overturned the 2000 conviction, prompting the more recent retrial that overturned the first ruling and led to the subsequent sentencing by Bonaventure.

Murphy's attorney, Michael Cristalli, said he escorted Murphy to the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Center on Smiley Road in North Las Vegas at roughly 10 a.m. Thursday at which point she was fingerprinted, had photos taken and had her discharge papers signed

Murphy said she was catching a 6 p.m. flight back to her home in Orange County, Calif., where she would be spending time with her new poodle, named Liberty.

Cristalli said he was still moving forward with Murphy's appeal of the convictions before the Nevada Supreme Court, as she intends to have her name totally cleared.

"She is still a convicted felon and we believe ultimately she will be totally vindicated of the robbery and grand larceny convictions. Our goal is for Sandy to have complete exoneration."

Cristalli said he would now focus on having the $250,000 bond posted for Murphy's bail returned.

Bonaventure had refused the request on Tuesday. Bonaventure said he lacked the jurisdiction to make such a decision and added he usually only granted such requests if an individual could show they were suffering from a hardship.

The judge said that since William Fuller, Murphy's wealthy octogenarian benefactor, and not Murphy, paid for her release on bail and for her defense in the retrial, he could see no such hardship.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who prosecuted Murphy and Tabish during their first trial, had no comment on Murphy's discharge other to say it would "have no affect on her appeal."

Tabish is currently serving an 18- to 120-month prison sentence for his kidnapping and extortion conviction which stemmed from the 1998 beating of a man at a sandpit in Jean.