OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An appeals court has ordered a federal judge to conduct a hearing on an Oklahoma death row inmate's claim of jury tampering.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the hearing in a decision handed down Thursday in the case of 71-year-old Bigler J. "Bud" Stouffer II.
Stouffer was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for the Jan. 24, 1985, shooting death of Putnam City teacher Linda Reaves. He was also convicted of shooting her boyfriend, Doug Ivens.
Stouffer was granted a new trial in 1999 after an appellate court ruled Stouffer's lawyers provided an inadequate defense. He was convicted and sentenced to death again following a retrial in 2003.
Stouffer alleges there was improper non-verbal communication between a juror and her husband during his second trial.