Commutation Granted to Nevada Death Row Inmate

     The Nevada Pardons Board unanimously commuted the death sentence of Thomas Nevius to life without the possibility of parole. Experts found that Nevius has an IQ level that is near 70 and the mental ability of an 11 or 12-year-old child. Nevius has been on Nevada's death row for 20 years, and his attorneys sought the reprieve following the Supreme Court's ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, which banned the execution of those with mental retardation. (Associated Press, November 20, 2002) This is the third commutation of a death sentence in the U.S. this year.