RENO, Nev. — Lawyers trying to get James Biela off Nevada's death row say his execution sentence was emotionally motivated by "an avalanche of news coverage" and the public campaign to bring justice to the young woman he was convicted of raping and strangling.
The appellant lawyers told the Nevada Supreme Court Monday Biela deserves a new trial in the 2008 killing of Brianna Denison and sexual assault of two other college coeds around the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno.
They say even if he's guilty of the crimes, he didn't deserve the death penalty. They say the jury was prejudiced and acted out of passion because of the media frenzy over the manhunt for a serial rapist, the blue ribbon campaign in Brianna's name and the Bring Bri Justice Foundation.
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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, http://www.rgj.com
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