Okla. Stat. tit. 22 § 2.4 Archives

F-2009-47

Post author:Staff
Post published:February 25, 2010
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2009-47, Kenneth Simmons appealed his conviction for Manslaughter in the First Degree. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to vacate the sentence and remand for re-sentencing. One judge dissented. Mark Kenneth Simmons was found guilty of Manslaughter after his trial for Murder in the First Degree. The jury gave him a fifteen-year prison sentence. He appealed, saying the trial court made an error by not informing the jury that he had to serve at least 85% of his sentence before being eligible for parole. The law in Oklahoma states that people convicted of specific crimes, like First Degree Murder or Manslaughter in the First Degree, must serve at least 85% of their sentence before they can be considered for parole. In a previous case, the court decided that jurors should know about these rules when they are deciding on a sentence. During the trial, when the jury asked if they needed to consider the 85% rule, the court told them to continue deliberating without giving any additional information. This was seen as a mistake. The State argued that this mistake did not affect the outcome significantly, but the court disagreed and said it was clear this lack of instruction was a big error. Because of this error, the court couldn’t be confident that the jury fully understood the implications of the sentence they handed down. The court decided that a new sentence should be determined, either by a properly instructed jury or by the District Court if the jury was waived by Simmons. The court affirmed the judgment but vacated the sentence, meaning they believed he should be tried again for sentencing.

F-2000-771

Post author:Staff
Post published:August 6, 2001
Post category:F

In OCCA case No. F-2000-771, Jeffrey Allen Brown appealed his conviction for Attempted Escape from the Department of Corrections. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm the conviction. One judge dissented. The case began when Brown was tried in the District Court of Comanche County and found guilty of Attempted Escape, which is against the law. His punishment was a twenty-year prison sentence, the minimum allowed. Brown did not agree with his conviction and appealed it. Brown had three main reasons for his appeal. First, he believed that he did not get a fair trial because a witness for the state shared something that Brown had not been told about before his trial. This made him feel like he was surprised or ambushed during the trial. Second, Brown thought that the evidence presented against him was not strong enough to prove he tried to escape. Third, he argued that the judge was unfair by giving him a longer sentence because he chose to have a jury trial instead of accepting a plea deal. After looking closely at the evidence and listening to all arguments, the court found that although the state did not share everything with Brown's lawyer in time, it did not change the outcome of the trial. The judges said that even with the surprise testimony, there was enough evidence to show that Brown attempted to escape. Regarding the sentencing, the judges agreed that the trial judge had made a mistake by giving Brown a harsher sentence just because he decided to have a jury trial. However, since Brown had a serious criminal history with six previous felony convictions, the judges felt the mistake did not require a new sentencing. In conclusion, the judges decided that Brown's conviction and sentence would remain as they were.