High court overturns Carson man's conviction in plot to kill wife

CARSON CITY (AP) - The Nevada Supreme Court has overturned a local man's convictions on charges of plotting to kill his wife, who survived despite having her throat slashed as she slept.

The high court ruled in favor of Allen Dwight Wood, who is serving a term of up to 33 years for the 1996 attack on Lisa Wood. Justices said out-of-court statements that implicated him were improperly admitted at his trial.

However, the Supreme court rejected Wood's claim that Nevada's ''fast-track'' criminal appeal process is unconstitutional. The system was set up to speed appeals and reduce a big backlog of court cases.

Wood was convicted of attempted murder, soliciting a murder and conspiring to commit a murder. All three convictions were overturned by the court.

Justice Bill Maupin dissented, saying he would have upheld Wood's convictions for attempted murder and conspiracy. Despite problems with witness statements - including lies by most of the witnesses - he said there was overwhelming evidence of Wood's guilt.

Two teen-agers said they were pressured by Wood to kill his wife. One of them, Brian Bardin, was tried as an adult and wound up with a 5-year prison term for trying to kill the victim.