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Death row inmate loses Supreme Court ruling

CARSON CITY — The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a petition by death row inmate Kevin Lisle that claims he has new evidence showing he is not guilty of killing Kip Logan in Las Vegas in 1994.

The court, in a 5-2 decision, said Lisle’s claims did not warrant relief and upheld the dismissal of the petition in Clark County District Court.

Justices Michael Cherry and Nancy Saitta dissented, arguing the lower court should have held an evidentiary hearing on Lisle’s new information alleging his innocence before rejecting the habeus corpus petition.

The killing occurred in October 1994 when John Melcher, who was driving on a Las Vegas freeway, pulled alongside a Mustang driven by Logan. A jury found that Lisle, the front passenger in Melcher’s van, shot and killed Logan. Melcher and another passenger testified against Lisle at his trial.

A jury found Lisle guilty of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon and sentenced him to death. His sentence and conviction were upheld in 1998.

In considering the appeal of the denial of his petition, the court majority found there was no evidence presented that demonstrated actual innocence of the crime that would warrant new proceedings.

In his petition, Lisle said he did not have facial hair at the time of the killing and that Melcher was the actual shooter.

In their dissent, Cherry and Saitta said the claim of misidentification should have been the focus of an evidentiary hearing to determine its credibility before the lower court acted on Lisle’s petition.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801.

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