Nevada man on death row for 1998 murder gets new sentence, may soon be released
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this photo taken on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014, Kelly Rhyne listens during a plea hearing in Elko District Court in Elko, Nev. Rhyne, sentenced to death for a 1998 murder, was issued a new sentence Thursday, that gives him credit for 16 years of time served and makes him eligible for parole immediately. (AP Photo/The Daily Free Press, , Ross Andreson) (The Associated Press)
A Nevada man sentenced to die for a 1998 murder has been issued a new sentence that gives him credit for 16 years of time served and makes him eligible for parole immediately.
Elko County District Judge Norman Robison on Thursday resentenced 55-year-old Kelly Rhyne to life in prison with the possibility of parole after the Carlin man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a deal with prosecutors.
The state Supreme Court twice upheld Rhyne's first-degree conviction in the beating death of Donald "Lobo" Brown in an Elko alley.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Robison overturned it in 2010, ruling Rhyne was mentally incompetent at his first trial and his lawyers were unqualified to handle a death penalty case.
The Elko Daily Free Press reports (http://tinyurl.com/kk29m8l ) prosecutors agreed to a plea bargain rather than retrying the case.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Information from: Elko Daily Free Press, http://www.elkodaily.com