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Nevada Supreme Court: Gangsta rap lyrics admissible in trial of murder suspect
CARSON CITY, Nev. – The Nevada Supreme Court says rap lyrics written by a man convicted of killing a Reno drug dealer were allowable evidence at trial because they described details of the crime.
In a split ruling Thursday, a three-judge panel upheld the first-degree murder conviction of Deyundrea Orlando Holmes for the 2003 shooting death of Kevin “Mo” Nelson outside a Reno recording studio.
Holmes wasn’t arrested until 2008 after genetic evidence recovered from a cigarette butt gathered at the murder scene matched his DNA. He was convicted and sentenced to life without possible parole.
In his appeal, Holmes argues the trial judge should not have allowed a jury to hear lyrics to a rap song, “Drug Deala,” that he had penned in jail while awaiting extradition from California.
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