In OCCA case No. F-2002-1437, Alonzo Gabriel Davison appealed his conviction for Lewd Molestation and Sexually Abusing a Minor Child. In an unpublished decision, the court decided to affirm his convictions but modify his sentences. One judge dissented. Davison was found guilty of two serious crimes related to child abuse and was sentenced to a total of 125 years in prison. However, the court agreed that some mistakes were made during the trial that affected how the case was handled. The main issues in the appeal included the fairness of the jury selection process, the admission of a videotape of a child’s testimony, and how the judge handled questions from the jury about sentencing. Davison argued that two jurors should not have been allowed to serve because they were biased and had strong feelings about child abuse, which could have impacted their decision. The court discussed how judges have discretion in deciding if a juror can be fair, but in this case, they felt that there were too many doubts about the impartiality of those jurors. Even though Davison's team challenged these jurors, they still ended up on the jury. However, because the defense did not follow all proper procedures to ensure their objections were raised correctly, the court ruled that Davison could not claim this issue harmed him in the end. Next, Davison argued that a videotape showing an interview with one of the child victims should not have been used in court. The court eventually agreed this was a mistake, but they decided it was a harmless error regarding his guilt—that is, it did not affect the jury's decision about whether he was guilty. However, the impact of such evidence on sentencing was considered more serious, leading the court to reduce each of his sentences to 45 years, which would run at the same time instead of one after the other. Regarding the jury's questions about parole and sentencing rules, the court concluded the trial judge was correct not to answer these questions, indicating that it was within the judge's discretion. Overall, while the court found some mistakes were made in how the trial was conducted, they decided that Davison's convictions were still valid, but he would serve a lighter sentence.
