Appeals Court Upholds Sand Springs Man's Murder Conviction

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder conviction and life without parole prison sentence of a 43-year-old Sand Springs man.

The ruling released Friday by the court rejects appeals by Ronnie Dean Haskins III that prosecutors failed to prove he did not act in self-defense and of ineffective counsel.

Haskins was convicted in Tulsa County of the August 2013 stabbing and shooting death of 24-year-old Zachary Montgomery at Montgomery's home.

9/1/2013 Related Story: Tulsa Stabbing Victim Dies; Murder Suspect Arrested

Haskins testified at his trial that Montgomery was showing him a rifle and that he stabbed Montgomery when he pointed the rifle at him.

Other witnesses testified they never saw Montgomery point the rifle at Haskins and that Haskins had said he stabbed Montgomery because he had touched his daughter inappropriately and owed him money for drugs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.