Court Opinion

ID: 9545570
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:15:44.845182+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:15:08.152394
License: Public Domain

Young, C. J.,
with whom Steffen, J., agrees, dissenting:
The district court imposed a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole on a convicted murderer. The defendant, now age fifteen, was thirteen years old at the time of the crime.1 We find that the sentence was constitutional, and did not evidence an abuse of discretion by the district court. Therefore, we would affirm.
During the morning of January 1, 1987, appellant, Khamsone Kham Naovarath, a thirteen year old native of Laos, decided to visit his neighbor, David Foote. Foote, a thirty-eight year old paraplegic confined to a wheelchair, refused to allow Naovarath to enter his home. However, Naovarath forced his way into the house, and during the next hour, slowly and brutally murdered the helpless David Foote.
Naovarath knocked Foote out of his wheelchair and tied him to a bench. He hit Foote on the head with glass bottles and jars *534which he found in the kitchen. Using foam carpet shampoo, he tried to poison or suffocate Foote. At one point he even encouraged Foote to kill himself with a kitchen knife. Finally, Naovarath stabbed Foote several times and strangled him with an electric cord. Naovarath then gathered some of Foote’s valuables, and left the premises in Foote’s van.
On January 6, 1987, Las Vegas police arrested Naovarath for Foote’s murder. The following day, he confessed to the killing. Naovarath stated that he did not know why he killed Foote since the decedent had done nothing to harm him.
The majority opinion makes a number of unfounded and unsupported references to sexual abuse supposedly inflicted upon Naovarath by his wheelchair-bound victim. With little legal authority and scant factual underpinning to support his position, the appellant apparently feels compelled to cast aspersions upon a helpless victim. The appellant’s descriptions of David Foote as a “homosexual child molester” and a “sexual assailant” are gross distortions of the record.
At his sentencing hearing, approximately one year after his confession, Naovarath’s counsel for the first time claimed that, on several occasions, David Foote had shown pornographic films to Naovarath, then paid Naovarath to ejaculate him.2 Moreover, on the day of the murder, Foote allegedly requested Naovarath to perform fellatio upon him. When Naovarath refused, Foote allegedly struck him. In retaliation, Naovarath knocked over Foote’s wheelchair, sending Foote to the floor. Realizing he was in trouble, Naovarath decided to kill Foote. Naovarath stated that he omitted these incidents from his prior statements because he was ashamed of his homosexual acts.
However, although pornographic videotapes were found in the victim’s home, the evidence does not demonstrate that Naovarath was the victim of sexual molestation. At the time of his confession, Naovarath told police that on the morning of the crime, he forced his way into David Foote’s home,3 unlikely conduct for one now raising the spectre of sexual abuse. By irresponsibly depicting David Foote as the villain in this case, instead of the victim, the majority opinion asserts as fact inferences which are, at best, highly speculative.4
*535Moreover, when Naovarath finally broached the subject of David Foote’s alleged sexual misconduct, he described the paraplegic Foote getting up from the ground after being knocked out of his wheelchair, grabbing a knife and coming after Naovarath. Neither Naovarath nor his counsel ever explained how a severely handicapped man could display such physical dexterity. The victim’s brother described David Foote as completely unable to defend himself. Therefore, we believe that Naovarath’s belated self-serving explanation of the events surrounding David Foote’s déath invites disbelief.
Furthermore, Naovarath’s unsupported claim of sexual abuse, made approximately one year after his confession and just before his penalty hearing, presented a question of credibility. It was within the district court’s discretion whether to accept Naovarath’s late-arriving defense or to discount it.5 See Renard v. State, 94 Nev. 368, 369, 580 P.2d 470, 471 (1978) (vesting district courts with wide discretion regarding sentencing and probation). The credibility issue was understandably resolved against Naovarath. We should not overrule, as here, a district court’s reasonable interpretation of the evidence presented at sentencing.
Finally, in view of the majority’s great sympathy for the perpetrator of one of the most brutal murders in recent memory, and its unfounded and indefensible portrayal of the helpless victim, we feel compelled to remind the reader that paraplegic David Foote was the victim in this case, and Khamsone Naovarath the offender. For approximately an hour, Naovarath tortured David Foote to death. That much, at least, is clear from the record.
*536Naovarath pleaded guilty to murder.6 The majority implies that Naovarath received inadequate counsel during the plea bargain process because he eventually received a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
However, the majority ignores the fact that the State originally charged Naovarath with murder with the use of a deadly weapon. Thus, Naovarath faced a sentence of two consecutive life terms with or without possibility of parole. NRS 193.165(1). Pursuant to his plea bargain, the State permitted him to enter a plea of guilty to an amended information charging him with murder, a felony. That charge exposed Naovarath to one sentence of life imprisonment with or without parole. NRS 200.030(4)(b). Therefore, contrary to the majority’s view, Naovarath received a substantial concession from the State, as well as competent advocacy.
For two reasons, the majority claims that Naovarath lacked the capacity to enter into his plea bargain. First, because Naovarath was thirteen-years-old at the time of the murder, it suggests that Naovarath presumptively lacked the legal capacity to commit a crime. We find the majority’s argument unsupportable in light of NRS 62.050, which strips juvenile courts of jurisdiction over minors charged with murder or attempted murder. Our statute applies the historical rule that the State should treat juveniles charged with capital crimes in every respect as adults. LeCroy v. State, 533 So.2d 750, 757 (Fla. 1988). Since Nevada tries children who commit heinous crimes, such as Naovarath, as adults, these violent young people clearly have the legal capacity to perform criminal acts.
Second, the majority contends that Naovarath was psychotic and delusional, and therefore incapable of voluntarily and intelligently pleading guilty. In Nevada, in order to competently enter a plea, a defendant must be of sufficient mentality to understand the nature of the criminal charges against him, and must be able to assist his counsel in his defense. NRS 178.400.
The record indicates that Naovarath possesses “superior intelligence.” Moreover, in a letter addressed to the district court judge before his sentencing hearing, Naovarath indicated his understanding that, because he took David Foote’s life, he faced a sentence of life imprisonment either with or without the possibility of parole. Thus, the evidence before us demonstrates that *537Naovarath was of sufficient mentality to understand the nature of the charges against him. Further, the record also contains a letter which Naovarath wrote to his public defender, describing the murder and his association with David Foote. Thus, Naovarath was able to assist his counsel in his defense.
Additionally, the majority contends that Naovarath’s “language difficulty” prevented him from understanding his plea negotiation. However, as part of our review of the record, we viewed a videotape of Naovarath’s confession to Las Vegas police investigators. We were impressed by Naovarath’s dispassionate and articulate recitation of his killing of David Foote. The taped confession indicates that Naovarath possessed ample communication skills during his arrest and plea negotiation (and little remorse for his actions). Furthermore, at no time did the district court judge find cause to question Naovarath’s competence. Therefore, the record belies the majority’s contention that Naovarath was not competent to enter into his plea bargain. Moreover, if the majority truly believed their conclusions of incompetence on the part of Naovarath to enter a plea, it is logically and legally inconsistent to impose any degree of punishment pursuant to a plea entered by a mentally incompetent defendant.
After consideration of all of the evidence, including the results of a psychological examination, the district court sentenced Naovarath to life in prison without possibility of parole. On appeal, Naovarath seeks a reduction of his sentence to life imprisonment with possibility of parole.
First, Naovarath argues that the prosecutor’s closing remarks at the sentencing hearing were inaccurate and improperly influenced the district court. The prosecutor cited statistics showing that most crimes are committed by males between the ages of nineteen and twenty-eight. He noted that with a sentence of life imprisonment with possibility of parole, Naovarath would be parole eligible at age twenty-three.7 In comparison, the prosecutor observed that under a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole, Naovarath could not anticipate release from prison until age thirty-four at the earliest.8
*538Naovarath contends that the prosecutor’s argument placed undue pressure upon the sentencer and did not accurately reflect the sentencing statutes. We disagree. The prosecutor merely integrated the facts of the instant case with the statutory provisions for parole. Under a sentence of life imprisonment with possibility of parole, Naovarath would be eligible for release at age twenty-three, after ten years incarceration. NRS 200.030(4). Applying a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole, Naovarath could receive parole after twenty years in prison, provided that the state board of pardons commissioners modifies his sentence to life imprisonment with possibility of parole.
No evidence exists to support Naovarath’s contention that the prosecutor’s comments unduly influenced the district court. We have faith that the district court judge was familiar with the possible penalties for first degree murder, as well as the pardon process and its effect on prison terms. When the sentence is within the statutory limits and there has been no proof of judicial reliance upon “impalpable or highly suspect evidence,” this court will not interfere with the district court’s imposition of sentence. Lloyd v. State, 94 Nev. 167, 170, 576 P.2d 740, 742 (1978).
Next, Naovarath argues that the sentence of life imprisonment without parole was disproportionate, and violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Again, we' disagree.
Aside from capital cases, successful challenges to the proportionality of particular sentences are extremely rare. Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 289-90 (1983). Reviewing courts should grant substantial deference to the broad authority that legislatures necessarily possess in determining the types and limits of punish*539ments for crimes. Solem, 463 U.S. at 290. Moreover, we owe the same deference to the discretion that trial courts possess in sentencing convicted criminals. Id.
Solem defined three objective factors for Eighth Amendment proportionality analysis. Id. at 290-292. First, courts must consider the gravity of the offense and the harshness of the penalty. In the instant case, Naovarath committed the gravest of all crimes, murder, in an extraordinarily brutal manner. For his conduct, Naovarath received the most severe penalty constitutionally permitted by our legal system. See Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815, 108 S.Ct. 2687 (1988) (holding that courts may not impose the death penalty on murderers who commit their crimes while under the age of sixteen).
Second, we must compare the sentences imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction. In Harvey v. State, 100 Nev. 340, 682 P.2d 1384 (1984), a jury sentenced a sixteen year old murderer to death for the fatal shooting of a security guard. The defendant shot the guard in a panic while fleeing a robbéry. Id. at 343, 682 P.2d at 1386.
Holding that capital punishment was disproportionate to the penalty imposed in Nevada in similar cases, this court substituted Harvey’s death sentence with a penalty of life imprisonment without possibility of parole. Id. at 344, 682 P.2d at 1387. We held that because Harvey shot the guard in a panic, his crime lacked the degree of heinousness and brutality evidenced in many cases in which the death penalty was imposed. Id. at 342, 682 P.2d at 1385. Moreover, we noted that Harvey suffered from extreme mental or emotional problems when he committed the murder. Id. at 343, 682 P.2d at 1386.
In the case at hand, Naovarath was thirteen years old when he killed David Foote. Although younger than the defendant in Harvey, Naovarath’s crime was notable for its cruelty. Naovarath always had the option to leave Foote’s house. Instead, he chose to stay and inflict horrible suffering upon his helpless victim. Like Harvey, Naovarath also labored under psychological problems. Thus, in accordance with our decision in Harvey, it seems reasonable to sentence Naovarath to life imprisonment without possibility of parole.
Third, we must compare sentences imposed for commission of the same crime in other jurisdictions. In a number of states, courts may try and punish juveniles as adults for certain offenses.9 *540For example, in New Jersey, if convicted of murder in criminal court, a juvenile receives a minimum sentence of thirty years without parole. N.J.Stat.Ann. § 2C:ll-3b (West Supp. 1988).
In Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815, 108 S.Ct. 2687 (1988), the Supreme Court vacated the death sentence imposed upon an Oklahoma juvenile who committed first degree murder at the age of fifteen. According to Oklahoma law, a person convicted of first degree murder shall be punished by death or life imprisonment. Okla.Stat.Ann.tit. 21, § 701.9 (West Supp. 1988). Since the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional in the case of murderers under the age of sixteen, Thompson now faces lifetime incarceration. In Eddings v. State, 688 P.2d 342 (Okla.Crim.App. 1984), the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals imposed the same sentence on a sixteen year old killer.
In Postell v. State, 383 So.2d 1159 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App. 1980), a thirteen year old girl was convicted of second degree murder, burglary and robbery. The court imposed concurrent ninety-nine-year terms for the murder and burglary and a consecutive fifteen-year term for the robbery. Id. at 1160 n. 1.10
In Whitehead v. State, 511 N.E.2d 284 (Ind. 1987), the Indiana Supreme Court upheld a fifty-four year sentence imposed *541upon a juvenile who brutally beat a pregnant woman to death. The court noted a number of aggravating factors also present in the instant case: the State’s psychiatrist felt that the defendant needed long term psychological counseling; the crime was particularly gruesome; a reduced sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the crime, and there was no excuse or provocation to justify the defendant’s attack upon the victim. Id. at 296.
Thus, a number of states besides Nevada now enforce severe penalties on youthful murderers.11 Consequently, we believe that Naovarath’s sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole was not disproportionate to his offense. Moreover, the Solem decision left intact the authority pronounced but three years earlier by the same Court in the case of Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263 (1980). In Rummel, the Court declared:
[gjiven the unique nature of the punishments considered in Weems [Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349 (1910) involving the unique punishment of cadena temporal imposed by the Philippine Code] and in the death penalty cases, one could argue without fear of contradiction by any decision of this Court that for crimes concededly classified and classifiable as felonies, that is, as punishable by significant terms of imprisonment in a state penitentiary, the length of the sentence actually imposed is purely a matter of legislative prerogative.
Id. at 274. Naovarath’s sentence was within the limits specified by the Nevada legislature and should not be overturned by this court.
Lastly, Naovarath argues that his sentence is cruel and unusual punishment and therefore violates the Eighth Amendment. He contends that the murder victim, David Foote, provoked his own demise by subjecting the thirteen year old Naovarath to sexual abuse. Furthermore, Naovarath argues that the wartime violence he witnessed as a small child in Laos and Vietnam should mitigate his sentence.
Again, Naovarath’s claims lack merit. Three basic tests exist for evaluating whether a punishment is cruel or unusual:
(1) In view of all the circumstances, is the punishment of such character as to shock the conscience and to violate principles of fundamental fairness? (2) Is the punishment greatly disproportionate to the offense? (3) Does the punish*542ment go beyond what is necessary to achieve the aim of the public interest as expressed by the legislative act?
Workman v. Commonwealth, 429 S.W.2d 374, 378 (Ky.Ct.App. 1968).
After consideration of all of the circumstances of this case, we do not find that the sentence imposed shocks the conscience or violates principles of fairness. Although Naovarath was only thirteen at the time of the murder, the psychiatrist who examined him estimated that Naovarath had a mental age of seventeen. Naovarath understood the difference between right and wrong, yet, after the brutal killing, he expressed no remorse for his actions other than how this crime will affect the remainder of his life.
As stated above, the district court’s sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole was not disproportionate to Naovarath’s offense. Therefore, our final question is whether this punishment serves any of the goals of our penal legislation.
Our legislature implemented tough penalties for first degree murderers as a means of dealing with dangerous and incorrigible individuals who would be a constant threat to society. The psychiatrist who examined Naovarath stated that his conscience is “non-developed, if not amoral.” Moreover, the physician observed evidence of a developing psychosis. The rage and randomness of Naovarath’s conduct during the murder is tragic evidence of the danger which he poses to society.
Nothing in Naovarath’s background serves to mitigate this impression or indicates a potential for rehabilitation. He admitted to drug and alcohol abuse, as well as involvement with street gangs. Juvenile records indicate that he is an habitual liar, had a poor school attendance record, and took part in no constructive activities at home or in the community.
We are unmoved by Naovarath’s contention that his tender years entitle him to special consideration at sentencing. As described above, we appear to be witnessing a national trend toward the reduction of the age of juvenile criminal liability. Persons under eighteen commit approximately twenty percent of violent crimes and forty-four percent of serious property crimes. Hearings on S. 829 before the Subcommittee on Criminal Law of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. 98th Cong., 1st Sess., 551 (1983).
In 1979, children under the age of fifteen committed 206 homicides, over 1,000 forcible rapes, and more than 10,000 robberies and 10,000 cases of aggravated assault. Id. at 554 (citing the United States Department of Justice, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1981). Many of these juveniles are *543cynical, street-wise, repeat offenders, and are indistinguishable, except for their age, from their adult criminal counterparts. Id. at 551.
Traditionally, our juvenile system followed the premise that rehabilitation should be its primary function. However, when applied to the most serious youthful offenders of today, that vision fails to adequately protect the public interest. Id. at 543. We recognize that juvenile offenders have special needs. However, we also recognize our responsibility to protect the public from violent crime and to hold young people accountable for their actions when, as in the case at hand, they engage in particularly heinous conduct.
In the instant case, the sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole was necessary to accomplish the objective of protecting society and to achieve the related goals of deterrence, rehabilitation and retribution. Thus, it was clearly within the purposes envisioned by the Nevada legislature.
The sentence imposed on Naovarath by the district court was within the statutory limits. Moreover, the penalty was not disproportionate to his offense, nor was it cruel and unusual punishment. Accordingly, we would affirm the decision of the district court.

 Pursuant to NRS 62.050, criminal charges were filed against appellant in the district court. The juvenile courts of this state lack jurisdiction when the child is charged with murder or attempted murder.

 In his detailed confession, Naovarath said nothing about pornographic films or sexual advances by the victim. A year passed before he made those statements.

 To suggest, as does the majority, that Naovarath merely “entered the deceased’s home on that day without permission” is to grossly understate the facts. Skidmarks from David Foote’s wheelchair found in front of his door testify to the brute force used by Naovarath to enter the home and the futility of the victim’s attempt to defend himself against his killer.

 We are especially disturbed by the majority’s conclusion that “as ‘just *535deserts’ for killing his sexual assailant, life without possibility of parole is excessive punishment for this thirteen-year-old boy.” (Emphasis added.) A careful review of the record produces no credible evidence to indicate the deceased was anything but a brutally murdered victim. To conclude that this helpless paraplegic was a “sexual assailant” is to proffer as a basis for the majority’s argument what Winston Churchill might have called a “terminological inexactitude.”
We are simply unwilling to be perceived, along with the sentencing judge, as jurists who are so calloused as to permit a thirteen-year-old who killed his “sexual assailant” to be consigned to life in prison. If the majority’s characterization could be supported in the record, in our opinion the penalty sought by the majority (life with possibility of parole) would be unacceptably harsh. But facts are stubborn, and the good intentions and impassioned arguments of the majority cannot change them.

 The record contains a letter written by Naovarath to the district court shortly before his sentencing, asking the judge for leniency. Strangely, given the majority’s reading of the record, Naovarath makes no mention of sexual abuse. Instead, he describes his homicidal behavior as an “accident.”

 Although the majority claims that Naovarath pleaded guilty to an “unspecified degree of murder,” the amended information relied upon by the majority declared that Naovarath “with malice aforethought, wilfully, feloniously and with premeditation” killed David Foote. Since NRS 200.030 defines first degree murder as any “kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing,” we believe the record is clear that Naovarath pleaded guilty to first degree murder.

 NRS 200.030(4) provides in part:
Every person convicted of murder of the first degree shall be punished:
(b) . . . by imprisonment in the state prison for life with or without possibility of parole. If the penalty is fixed at life imprisonment with possibility of parole, eligibility for parole begins when a minimum of 10 years has been served.

 NRS 213.1099(3) provides:
Except as otherwise provided in NRS 213.1215, the board may not *538release on parole a prisoner whose sentence to death or to life without possibility of parole has been commuted to a lesser penalty unless it finds that the prisoner has served at least 20 consecutive years in the state prison, is not under an order that he be detained to answer for a crime or violation of parole or probation in another jurisdiction, and that he has no history of:
(a) Recent misconduct in the institution, and that he has been recommended for parole by the director of the department of prisons;
(b) Repetitive criminal conduct;
(c) Criminal conduct related to the use of alcohol or drugs;
(d) Repetitive sexual deviance, violence or aggression; or
(e) Failure in parole, probation, work release or similar programs.
Although Naovarath was fourteen at the time of sentencing, the district court granted him 374 days credit for time already served. Thus, the prosecutor miscalculated. Assuming that he received a commutation, a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole would make Naovarath parole eligible at age thirty-three.

 In Idaho, the state may try 14 year old murder suspects as adults. Idaho Code § 16-1806 (1988). In Illinois, children 15 or older may be tried as adults for murder, criminal sexual assault, armed robbery with a firearm, and possession of a deadly weapon in a school. Ill. Ann. Stat. ch. 37, § 805-4(6) (Smith-Hurd Supp. 1988). In Indiana, removal from juvenile to district court is mandatory when a child is 10 or older and charged with murder. Ind. Code *540Ann. § 31-6-2-4(b)(d) (Michie Supp. 1987). Kentucky maintains a removal age of 14 for juveniles charged with capital offenses or Class A or Class B felonies. Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 635.020(2)-(4), 640.010 (Michie Supp. 1988). Minnesota makes removal mandatory for offenses committed by children 14 years or older who were previously certified for criminal prosecution and convicted of the offense or a lesser included offense. Minn. Stat. § 260.125 subd. 1, 3, and 3a (1986). Montana has lowered its removal age from 16 to 12 for children charged with sexual intercourse without consent, deliberate homicide, mitigated deliberate homicide, or attempted deliberate homicide or attempted mitigated deliberate homicide. Mont. Code Ann. § 41-5-206(l)(a) (1987). In New Jersey, 14 year-olds charged with certain aggravated offenses are now tried and punished as adults. N.J.Stat.Ann. § 2A:4A-26 (West Supp. 1987). New York recently amended its law to allow certain 13, 14, and 15 year-olds to be tried and punished as adults. N.Y.Crim.Proc. Law § 190.71 (McKinney 1982).
Furthermore, federal law now holds that juveniles above the age of fifteen who are charged with violent felonies or certain drug offenses may be transferred from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court to an appropriate district court of the United States for criminal prosecution. 18 U.S.C. § 5032 (1984).

 Postell has been criticized insofar as it held that the defendant (who was charged by grand jury indictment) was ineligible for classification as a youthful offender, and thus, subject to the more severe adult penalties. See State v. Goodson, 403 So.2d 1337, 1339 (Fla. 1981) (holding that indicted juveniles may be subject to classification as youthful offenders). However, the Florida Supreme Court never specifically overturned Postell.

 Recently, in Stanford v. Kentucky, 57 U.S.L.W. 4973 (1989), the Supreme Court held that the imposition of capital punishment on persons who murder at sixteen or seventeen years of age does not offend the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.