Carson City murderer loses latest attempt to overturn his sentence

A Carson City man sentenced to life for murder more than 20 years ago has lost yet another attempt to overturn his sentence.

Keith David Houston, 46, pleaded guilty in 1983 to first-degree murder and sexual assault. Carson District Judge Mike Griffin sentenced him to two consecutive life terms in prison without possible parole.

He admitted raping and strangling to death 15-year-old Julie Elder on Aug. 17 of that year. Her body was found behind a condominium complex in southwest Carson City.

"I broke God's law. I broke the law of man, and I must be punished," he told the judge at his sentencing.

But Houston has made several attempts over the years to overturn or reduce that sentence, most recently in June 2005 when he filed a motion arguing the sentence was illegal. He argued Nevada law did not provide for a sentence of life without possible parole until the 1995 enactment of NRS 213.085. He also argued sentencing him to life on both counts violated double jeopardy.

The Supreme Court panel of Justices Bill Maupin, Mark Gibbons and Jim Hardesty disagreed. They said Nevada law provided for a sentence of life without possible parole in the 1980s for both murder and sexual assault and that, therefore, Judge Griffin was within the law in imposing that sentence.

They also rejected the double jeopardy argument, pointing out that murder and sexual assault are separate and distinct crimes even though they involved the same victim during the same event.

• Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.