CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The Nevada Supreme Court has been urged
to overturn the death sentence ordered for a man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Las Vegas after he was mistakenly released from jail.

Attorney David Schieck said James Chappell was unfairly sentenced to death for a crime of passion in the stabbing death of Deborah Panos, the mother of his three children.

But Steven Owens, a chief Clark County deputy district attorney, argued that Chappell sneaked into the victim's house, beat and raped her after she came home, and then stabbed her 13 times.

Chappell had been in jail as a result of several charges, including a domestic violence allegation. Following a court hearing on the day of the murder, he was supposed to go to a drug treatment program. Instead, he wound up on the street.