Clark County DA Death Penalty Panel to Review Karaoke Killing Case
Last year, Xiao Ye Bai allegedly stabbed Wen Jun “James” Li in a karaoke bar on Jones Blvd. when he refused to pay Bai $10,000. A Chinese immigrant who may have gang ties in California, Bai is also charged with murder in San Gabriel, CA, where he allegedly killed a man and wounded another in a restaurant in 2008. This week, the death penalty committee of the Clark County District Attorney’s office is reviewing Bai’s case to determine whether Nevada will pursue capital punishment.
Nevada homicide law defines first-degree murder as premeditated killing or killing that occurs during the perpetration of a felony. Second-degree murder is all other kinds of murder (such as Russian roulette). Nevada homicide law permits the death penalty only for first-degree murder convictions.
Nevada homicide law allows for the death penalty only if one or more aggravating circumstances are found that are not outweighed by mitigating circumstances. (A classic example of a mitigating circumstance is a troubled childhood.) Otherwise, other penalties for first-degree murder include life in prison with or without the possibility of parole after twenty years, or fifty years imprisonment with the possibility of parole after twenty years.
