# Sellers v. State

> Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma · April 5, 1991 · 62 O.B.A.J. 1169

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9558742

## Case

- **Full name:** Sean Richard SELLERS, Appellant, v. STATE of Oklahoma, Appellee
- **Court:** Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
- **Decided:** April 5, 1991
- **Citations:** 62 O.B.A.J. 1169; 809 P.2d 676; 1991 OK CR 41; 1991 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 39; 1991 WL 47637
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Brett
- **Judges:** Johnson, Lumpkin, Parks, Lane, Brett
- **Cited by:** 74 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9558742

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- concluding that trial court did not err in excluding evidence concerning appropriateness of death penalty for juveniles
- concluding that trial court properly excluded evidence concerning the effects of satanism and cults on juveniles
- concluding that Pardon and Parole Board practices are not proper matters for jury consideration

## Opinion text

BRETT, Judge,
specially concurring:
I agree that this case must be affirmed even though the “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel” aggravating circumstance must fail because of insufficient evidence. However, I feel that it is imperative to discuss the facts of this case and why the evidence does not support this aggravating circumstance. The jury was improperly instructed on the aggravating circumstance and that facts do not support it. There was no evidence that the murders involved “torture or serious physical abuse”.as required by Stouffer v. State, 742 P.2d 562 (Okl.Cr.1987), cert. denied 484 U.S. 1036 , 108 S.Ct. 763 , 98 L.Ed.2d 779 (1988). The Circle K attendant was fatally shot in the head. Although the medical examiner testified that he probably did not die until about ten minutes later, there was no evidence that he was conscious after the fatal shot or that the suffered from serious physical abuse or torture. See Odum v. State, 651 P.2d 703 (Okl.Cr.1982). The appellant’s parents were shot in the back of their heads while they were asleep in bed and both died instantly. The State conceded in its brief that Mr. Bellofatto’s death did not involve serious physical abuse or torture. Also, in the trial judge’s report, he stated that the victims in each case were not physically harmed or tortured prior to death.

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9558742. Public record. Not legal advice.