OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An Oklahoma appeals court has upheld the life-without-parole sentence of a convicted killer from Tulsa and denied his request for a new evidentiary hearing.
In a 5-0 opinion Thursday, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the sentences of George Emile July, who was sentenced to life without parole for first-degree murder and seven additional life sentences for other crimes.
July was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2013 beating death of 34-year-old Quinton Shaver. He was also convicted of kidnapping, assault, battery with a deadly weapon, drug possession and possessing a firearm after a former felony conviction.
Among other things, July had claimed his trial attorney was ineffective for not calling an expert on methamphetamine psychosis, exacerbated by alcohol use.
