Appeal Rejected For Choctaw Man Who Beat Co-Worker To Death

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Choctaw man convicted and sentenced to die for beating a co-worker to death with a hammer.

The court's ruling released Wednesday rejects 39-year-old James Allen Coddington's claims of ineffective counsel.

Coddington was convicted of first-degree murder in 2003 and sentenced to death for the 1997 beating death of 73-year-old Albert Hale.

Coddington's original death sentence was overturned -- but a different jury sentenced him to death in 2008.

Prosecutors say Coddington beat Hale to death with a hammer after Hale refused to give him money to buy drugs.

The two worked together at an auto parts store in Choctaw.