Trickle Bill proposes lifting of murder limits

CARSON CITY -- A bill that grew out of the slaying of Las Vegas race car driver Chris Trickle won unanimous passage from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"This bill can be part of Chris' legacy, his gift to Nevada so that the families of any future victims can see murderers held accountable for their actions," said Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, the sponsor of Senate Bill 11.

The bill proposes to eliminate a limitation in the current law that allows for prosecution of murder or manslaughter charges only if a victim dies within one year and one day after the attack. The bill will be up for final passage in the full Senate early next week.

Trickle fell into a coma after being shot in the head by a still-unknown assailant as he drove along Blue Diamond Road on Feb. 9, 1997. He emerged briefly from his coma in October 1997 but died March 25, 1998, 13 months after the shooting.

Trickle's parents testified by video from Las Vegas in support of SB11. Backing also came from the Clark County district attorney and Metro Police.

The killer has never been caught, but if he's arrested, he can never be held on a murder charge.

At least 24 states have recently abolished the "year and a day" law.

The birth of "year and a day" laws was more than 700 years ago in English Common law.

"Doctors then knew very little about medicine and forensic science," Titus said. "The original purpose was to ensure that the action of the defendant was truly the cause of death. But since then there have been medical breakthroughs keeping persons alive longer."

She said the legislation will be called the Chris Trickle Bill.

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