USA - Nevada. The Nevada Supreme Court has reinstated the death penalty for Michael J. Mulder

The Nevada Supreme Court has reinstated the death penalty for Michael J. Mulder, now 49. The court, in its unanimous opinion, overturned the decision of District Judge Michelle Leavitt, who ruled that the aggravating circumstances used to inflict the death penalty were invalid. Mulder on July 8, 1996 robbed and killed 77-year-old John Ahart in his home. The jury found 4 aggravating circumstances that warranted the death penalty. The murder was committed during both a robbery and a burglary; Mulder had been convicted of using violence during a bank robbery in Arizona in 1987 and he was convicted also of an armed robbery in Arizona in 1980. Judge Leavitt found that 2 of the 4 aggravators – robbery and burglary – were invalid. The Supreme Court said, "We conclude that the jury would have imposed a sentence of death absent the invalid aggravating factors because the facts of this crime are particularly heinous and involve the robbery and brutal murder of an elderly victim …" The court said the jury's consideration of the 2 invalid felony aggravators was "harmless beyond a reasonable doubt."