Oklahoma appeals court reverses double-murder conviction

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma appeals court has reversed the double-murder conviction of a Spencer man and remanded the case for a new trial.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issued its ruling on Thursday in the case of 27-year-old Jamar Mordecai Simms. Simms was convicted in 2018 and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the 2016 shooting deaths of Kendre Smith, 25, and Chameeka Harris, 26.

Prosecutors allege the two were shot during a drug deal, and Simms was convicted of felony murder during the underlying crime of drug distribution. However, the appeals court said evidence suggests Simms was buying, not distributing, drugs, and that the evidence was insufficient to support his felony-murder conviction.