Oklahoma death row inmate fighting sentence has died

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma death row inmate who was fighting to overturn his death sentence for a 1999 killing in Oklahoma City has died. The Oklahoman reports that 64-year-old Jimmy Dean Harris died June 29th at a hospital from long-term health problems.

Harris was sentenced to death for the fatal shooting of his wife’s boss at an Oklahoma City transmission shop. Harris shot and killed Merle Taylor on September 1st, 1999, at AAMCO Transmissions, where Harris had gone to confront his wife.

Harris was originally sentenced to death in 2001, but an appeals court threw out the sentence. A second jury chose death in 2005, but Harris was still challenging the sentence.