Court won't stop execution of man convicted of Brooke, Kya Whitaker murders
Pictures of Brooke Whitaker, 24, and her daughter, Kya, 7 months old, were framed and hung as ornaments in 2010 on the Tree of Honor during a ceremony for victims of violent crime. The Whitakers were murdered June 23, 2007.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 10/01/2012
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't overturn a death sentence for a man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend and her infant daughter in Oklahoma.
The high court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from Raymond Eugene Johnson. Johnson was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder by a Tulsa County jury in 2009 in the June 2007 deaths of Brooke Whitaker, 24, and her 7-month-old daughter, Kya Whitaker.
Prosecutors said Johnson beat Brooke Whitaker in the head with a hammer, set her on fire and left her and the baby to burn in their gasoline-doused home.
Oklahoma courts have refused to stop his execution, and the high court now also has refused to intervene.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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