Friday, May 15, 2015 | 4:18 p.m.
CARSON CITY – A federal appeals court has overturned the death penalty for Billy Ray Riley, convicted in Las Vegas of the shotgun killing of a reputed drug dealer.
But Riley is not getting out of prison, because he is also serving a life term without parole for robbery and being a habitual criminal.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said today there was a faulty instruction given to the jury at Riley’s 1990 trial.
The court will grant the writ of habeas corpus unless the state pursues a new trial “within a reasonable amount of time.”
Riley, 29 at the time of his conviction, used a shotgun to kill Albert Bollin, 26, and then stole cocaine and money from the victim, according to court documents. According to trial testimony, Bollin was told he was going to die and asked that he be allowed to have one last cocaine hit.
After Bollin put down the pipe, he told Riley he was ready to die; Riley then shot him, according to court records.
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