In OCCA case No. C-2010-695, Marcus Jermaine Christon appealed his conviction for multiple charges including burglary and possession of drugs. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to grant his petition for certiorari and remanded the case for a new hearing. One judge dissented.
In OCCA case No. F-2008-381, Cecil Ray Johnson appealed his conviction for kidnapping. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial. One judge dissented. Cecil Ray Johnson was found guilty of kidnapping and received a 20-year prison sentence. He argued that there was not enough evidence to prove he committed the crime of kidnapping. He also said that evidence of other crimes should not have been allowed in the trial because it did not have a clear connection to the kidnapping charges. The court agreed with Johnson on the second point. They explained that evidence of other crimes can sometimes be used, but it must be relevant to the case at hand. In this situation, the evidence of Johnson’s past acts was too old and did not clearly connect to the kidnapping charge. The court said that using this evidence could unfairly influence the jury against Johnson. Because of the problems with the evidence, the court found that Johnson did not receive a fair trial. Even though they thought there was enough evidence for his conviction, they had to reverse the decision because it was unfair to include the other crimes evidence. In conclusion, the judgment was reversed, and the case was sent back for a new trial to ensure Johnson gets a fair chance in court. One judge disagreed with this decision, believing that the evidence of other crimes was relevant to show Johnson’s intent.
In OCCA case No. F-2001-1224, the appellant appealed his conviction for two counts of Child Abuse. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction but modify the sentences. One judge dissented. The appellant, referred to as Donnie Joe Bacon, was found guilty in the District Court of Oklahoma County. His jury trial was overseen by a judge, and the jury sentenced him to serve twenty-five years on one count of child abuse and forty-seven years on the other count. These sentences were ordered to be served one after the other. On appeal, the court looked at several arguments made by the appellant regarding his trial, including violations of his rights and errors made during the trial process. The court examined various points of error. One issue discussed was the testimony from a detective that did not follow a pretrial order, which the court said was a mistake but did not think it affected the guilt of the appellant; however, it did influence the length of the sentence. Another point was about the admission of evidence related to other crimes, which the appellant argued should not have been allowed in the trial. The court agreed that some of this evidence about other bad acts was not relevant and should not have been presented, yet again concluded it did not change the verdict of guilt but might have influenced the sentence. The court also looked into whether the prosecution failed to share important information with the defense and whether the appellant's lawyer did a good job representing him. They decided that the mistakes made by the defense lawyer mostly dealt with the other crimes evidence and didn't significantly impact the guilty verdict. In the end, the court affirmed the conviction of Donnie Joe Bacon but modified the punishment, reducing it to twenty years on each count, which would still be served consecutively. While most of the judges agreed with this decision, one judge wanted to reverse the conviction and order a new trial.
In OCCA case No. F 2002-101, Danny Joe Boomershine appealed his conviction for Forcible Sodomy and Rape by Instrumentation. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm his convictions but modified the sentences to run concurrently instead of consecutively. One judge dissented, suggesting that the sentences should be modified to life.