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Double Conviction Appealed

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By AP

Tulsa, OK – Death penalty appeal set for Tulsa double slaying

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) An appellate hearing is scheduled for a Tulsa man sentenced to die for the 2007 killings of his ex-girlfriend and her 7-month-old daughter.

Oral arguments are scheduled Tuesday before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in the case of 37-year-old Raymond Eugene Johnson.

Johnson was sentenced to die after a Tulsa County jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the June 2007 slayings of 24-year-old Brooke Whitaker and 7-month-old Kya Whitaker.

Prosecutors alleged that Johnson beat Brooke Whitaker with a hammer, set her on fire, and left her and the baby to burn in their home, which he had doused with gasoline.

Johnson's attorney maintains he should have his conviction reversed and a new trial ordered because of errors associated with his arrest and confession.