June Execution Date Set For Oklahoma Death Row Inmate

An Oklahoma appeals court has set a June 18 execution date for a man sentenced to die for the stabbing deaths of an elderly LeFlore County couple.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals set the date on Wednesday for 36-year-old James Lewis DeRosa. DeRosa was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in October 2001 and sentenced to die for the deaths of 73-year-old Curtis Plummer and 70-year-old Gloria Plummer of Poteau.

Prosecutors say DeRosa had worked at the Plummers' ranch. They alleged that DeRosa and 32-year-old John Eric Castleberry slashed the Plummers' throats and left the scene with $73 and the couple's pickup truck, which was abandoned at a nearby lake.

Castleberry pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and testified against DeRosa in exchange for a life sentence without parole.