(August 15, 2008)—The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the death sentence of a Waco man convicted nearly a decade ago in a deadly home break-in despite claims that a Bible in the jury room prejudiced jurors.
A jury in Nacogdoches County sentenced Khristian Oliver, 30, to die in 1999 for the murder of Joe Collins, 64, who was pistol-whipped and shot to death after surprising Oliver and three accomplices during a burglary in 1998.
They were later arrested at a motel in Waco.
Oliver's three accomplices, Sonya Fawn Reed, Benardo Rubalcana and Lonnie Rubalcana, received prison terms ranging from five to 99 years, but Oliver got the death penalty.
In his appeals, Oliver’s lawyers contend that jurors improperly consulted Scripture that called for death as punishment for murder.
The appeals court says it saw insufficient evidence to overturn decisions from Oliver's trial court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that upheld the jury verdict.
No execution date has been set.
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