Wednesday, April 30, 2014 | 5:05 p.m.
CARSON CITY — The convictions of two Las Vegas men on second-degree murder charges have been overturned because of faulty jury instructions by Clark County District Court judges.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals today reversed the second-degree murder conviction of Frederick Dixon in the shooting of Derrick Nunley in November 2003 outside the Palms casino in Las Vegas.
Dixon had claimed self defense after a confrontation with Nunley, according to court documents.
The federal appeals court said the trial judge did not properly instruct the jury on self defense. It ordered Dixon to be released unless the state proceeds with a new trial.
Dixon was sentenced to consecutive 10-year-to life-terms with the possibility of parole.
In a separate case, the Nevada Supreme Court on Friday ordered a new trial for Jason Jones, who was found guilty of second-degree murder in the June 2012 shooting death of Jaime Corona at an apartment in Las Vegas.
The Supreme Court said the trial judge erred in not instructing the jury that if it found Jones acted in the heat of passion, it should find him guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder, according to court documents.
Jones was sentenced to 10 years to life with a consecutive term of 5 to 12 years.
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