Oklahoma appellate court rejects death row inmate’s appeal

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state appeals court has rejected the appeal of an Oklahoma death row inmate who was sentenced to die for killing a 16-year-old girl in 2012. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday rejected 30-year-old Miles Bench’s motion for an evidentiary hearing and to stay proceedings in his death penalty appeal. Bench was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to die for killing Braylee Henry after she bought gas at the Tee Pee Totem convenience store in Velma where Bench worked. He argued among other things that the state lacked jurisdiction because he is a Choctaw Nation citizen and the killing took place within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation reservation.