Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Death penalty upheld in 1984 case of double slaying

The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for Las Vegas killer Randolph Moore who has had three penalty hearings in the shooting of a middle-age couple in 1984.

The court rejected the arguments there were errors made in jury selection, and the constitutionality of the death penalty was also challenged.

Moore and Dale Flanagan were sentenced to death for the shooting of Carl Gordon, 58, and Colleen Gordon, 57, the grandparents of Flanagan, who wanted their insurance payments and their inheritance.

The Supreme Court overturned the first penalty hearing because of misconduct by the prosecution. The second penalty hearing was reversed because of testimony about Satan worship.

Moore argues the death penalty also in his third penalty hearing should be reversed because his attorney failed to object to the judge questioning jurors about their religious affiliations and if they regularly attended church.

The court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Michael Cherry, said the religious belief of a prospective juror in a death penalty case was "highly relevant."

Quoting from a previous case, the court said the religious convictions of a juror are grounds for removal if the beliefs are so fixed that he is unable to return the death penalty under any case.

Moore also complained that his lawyer should have objected to the removal of a prospective juror who said he could not believe in the death penalty.

Moore's challenge of the constitutionality of the death penalty was also rejected by the court. Two other defendants in the case received life terms in prison and a fifth got probation.

In another decision, the court upheld the death penalty for James M. Biela, convicted of the rape-strangulation of a 19-year-old woman in Reno in 2008.

Brianna Denison was sleeping on her friend's couch in a residence near the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, when Biela entered through an unlocked door, pressed a pillow to her face and removed her from the house.

The court said Biela then raped and strangled her with the strap of a pair of thong underwear. Her naked body was found weeks later in a ravine in south Reno.

DNA evidence linked Biela to the crime, said the court. Two other women who alleged they were sexually assaulted near the same location testified at Biela's trial.

The court, in the decision also written by Cherry, said the death penalty was not excessive in this case. The court said there is nothing to show the verdict of the jury "was the result of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor."

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