OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma appeals court has upheld the second-degree murder conviction and prison sentence of a man convicted of killing another man outside an Oklahoma City nightclub.
Wednesday’s ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected several claims by 31-year-old Christopher Calvin Benson, including insufficient evidence, irrelevant and prejudicial evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective counsel and that the sentence is excessive.
Benson was convicted and sentenced to 32 years in prison for the 2014 shooting death of 30-year-old Zachary Bowie of Spencer outside a club in the Bricktown area of Oklahoma City.
Prosecutors say Benson had been kicked out of the club by security and later returned with a gun and opened fire on a crowd of people, killing Bowie.