Man Convicted In Rape, Murder Of OU Ballerina Julie Busken Denied New Hearing

The man convicted of raping and killing OU ballerina Julie Busken has been denied a new hearing. 

Anthony Castillo Sanchez was convicted of her Busken's murder in 2006 and is on death row.

Busken disappeared in the early morning hours of Dec 20, 1996 from her east Norman apartment. Her body was discovered on the shores of Lake Stanely Draper just hours after she disappeared.

Sanchez's attorneys claimed that newly discovered evidence put him at a "greater risk of execution" due to his race. The appeal for a new trial alleged Sanchez's rights under the 5th, 6th and 14th amendments of the Oklahoma constitution were violated. 

Sanchez previously appealed for a new evidentiary hearing in January 2009. It was denied. 

Attorneys for Sanchez allege that Oklahoma homicides with white victims were about twice as likely to result in capital punishment as those with non-white victims, during a studied period. The odds of capital punishment for homicides with white female victims were about 9.6 times that of cases with non-white male victims, according to Sanchez's attorneys claims.