OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An
Oklahoma pharmacist is appealing his murder conviction and life sentence
in the shooting of a teenager during an attempted robbery.
Jerome Ersland's supporters
filed the appeal on his behalf Monday with the Oklahoma Court of
Criminal Appeals. The appeal says Ersland received ineffective legal
counsel at his May 2011 trial. His trial attorney, Irven Box, didn't
return a call seeking comment.
Ersland was convicted of
first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility
of parole for the 2009 shooting death of a 16-year-old boy involved in a
break-in at his store.
Prosecutors say Ersland was
justified in firing an initial shot but that he went too far when he
grabbed a second gun and fired five more bullets into the unconscious
teen.
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