The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld first-degree murder convictions in two unrelated cases, including a Tulsa woman sentenced to life without parole for the stabbing death of her boyfriend.
The court Thursday rejected appeals by 25-year-old Sarah Francis, who was convicted in the 2014 death of Jon Jay Smitter. An autopsy found Smitter was stabbed 57 times. Francis claimed she acted in self-defense.
In another case, the court affirmed the first-degree conviction of 24-year-old Immanuel Mitchell, who was sentenced to life in prison for the 2015 shooting death of 25-year-old John Columbus in Pottawatomie County.
Prosecutors alleged the shooting involved a conspiracy to steal marijuana. The court rejected Mitchell's claim that the evidence was insufficient.