Court again rejects appeal of Oklahoman in beheading

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has again rejected claims by a death row inmate in the beheading of a co-worker. The court’s Thursday ruling said 37-year-old Alton Alexander Nolen’s request for post-conviction relief, including a claim of new information about his mental illness, either have no merit or are barred from review because they could have been raised on direct appeal.

Nolen was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2014 killing of 54-year-old Colleen Hufford at Vaughan Foods. He was also convicted of wounding another co-worker after being suspended from his job at the plant.