Okla. Stat. tit. 21 § 1125 Archives

F-2004-368

Post author:Staff
Post published:June 10, 2005
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2004-368, an individual appealed his conviction for multiple counts of sexual crimes against his daughter. In a published decision, the court decided to affirm the convictions for Second Degree Rape, Forcible Sodomy, and Second Degree Rape by Instrumentation, but reversed the conviction for Lewd Molestation. One judge dissented on the Forcible Sodomy count. Tommie Loyd Payne was charged with numerous sexual offenses in Muskogee County, with the jury acquitting him of 97 counts but convicting him on 4. The court sentenced him to a total of 70 years in prison, with some sentences to be served one after the other. Payne raised several issues on appeal. He argued that the conviction for Forcible Sodomy violated double jeopardy because the jury instructions blended different elements of the crimes, which could have led to a wrongful conviction based on the same actions. However, the court found that the jury's understanding of the separate charges made this error negligible, so the convictions stood. He also contended that Lewd Molestation should not be punished because it was a lesser included offense of Rape by Instrumentation. The court agreed that both charges referred to the same act, which violated the prohibition against double jeopardy, resulting in the reversal of the conviction for Lewd Molestation. Finally, Payne pointed out that the trial court did not complete a pre-sentence investigation before sentencing, which was a mandatory requirement. However, the lack of this investigation was found to be a harmless error. Overall, the court upheld the serious convictions against Payne while addressing significant legal standards regarding double jeopardy and trial procedures.

F-2003-802

Post author:Staff
Post published:December 3, 2004
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2003-802, the appellant appealed his conviction for multiple serious crimes against minors. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm most of the convictions but reversed one. One member of the court dissented regarding the sentences. The appellant was found guilty of many crimes, including possession of obscene material involving minors and various forms of sexual assault and exploitation. The jury decided on significant punishments, including life imprisonment for some counts and substantial fines. The sentences were ordered to run one after the other, meaning the appellant would serve a long time in prison without the chance to have some time overlap. The appellant raised several issues during the appeal. He argued that his trial was unfair for various reasons, such as hearsay evidence being allowed and prejudicial comments from the prosecutor. He also claimed that he was charged with crimes that were not consistent with the law at the time of the offenses, notably regarding the sexual exploitation charge. The court evaluated each point raised by the appellant. They found that while there were errors in how the trial was handled, not all of them affected the final outcome significantly. Some errors were considered harmless or did not warrant a change in the verdict. The court agreed that some charges were problematic, particularly that of sexual exploitation, which the court decided to reverse and dismiss. The court concluded that the appellant's conviction for the possession charge should reflect a different statute and that some sentences exceeded legal limits. The court modified these sentences appropriately and affirmed most of the other convictions. One judge did not agree with the decision to have all sentences run consecutively and believed they should run together instead, which would allow for a potentially shorter total time in prison. This disagreement highlights the differing opinions within the court regarding the severity and application of sentences. In summary, the case involved serious crimes with significant legal discussion around the fairness of the trial and the appropriateness of the resulting sentences.