04 July 2019 :

U.S. District Judge James Mahan reversed Avram Nika’s death sentence. A Washoe District Court jury convicted Nika of murder in July 1995 and sentenced him to death for the Aug. 24, 1994 murder of Edward Smith. Judge Mahan upheld the guilty verdict against Nika, 49, White, a Serbian national, but ruled that Nika's defense didn't present a full picture of his circumstances that might've swayed a jury against voting for the death penalty, and overturned the death penalty sentence. The Nevada Attorney General’s Office has 60 days to file a response. They can either impose a non-capital sentence or grant him a new penalty-phase trial, which means jury selection would need to start within 180 days. The Washoe County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday it had not reviewed the decision and was not ready to comment on what it would do next.