Crumley v. State

1 Appellant, Curtis Gene Crumley, was convicted of First Degree Murder after a trial by jury in Atoka County District Court, Case No. CRF-89-25. Although the death penalty was sought by the State, the jury recommended that Appellant be sentenced to life in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. The trial court sentenced accordingly. That judgment and sentence is the subject of the present appeal. Appellant claims that he is entitled to relief from this Court for the following reasons; the prosecutors decision to seek the death penalty prevented him from receiving a fair trial, the trial court erred when it refused to instruct the jury that it had the option of returning a verdict of Second Degree Murder, that improper rebuttal testimony was allowed in the first stage of the trial and that improper evidence of prior unrelated acts was admitted in the first stage of the trial. We disagree and affirm the conviction.