Daniel Fearsâ€™ Murder Convictions Changed To Not Guilty By Reason Of Insanity

SALLISAW, Okla. (AP) -- A man convicted in a deadly 2002 shooting spree showed no emotion as his first-degree murder convictions were changed to not guilty by reason of insanity.<br/><br/>After changing

Thursday, February 1st 2007, 10:21 am

By: News On 6

SALLISAW, Okla. (AP) -- A man convicted in a deadly 2002 shooting spree showed no emotion as his first-degree murder convictions were changed to not guilty by reason of insanity.

After changing the guilty verdicts, Sequoyah County District Judge Jeff Payton Thursday ordered Daniel Hawke Fears be taken to the Oklahoma Forensic Center in Vinita for treatment and evaluation.

Fears is scheduled to return to court March 15th for a review of his case.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals last year overturned the first-degree murder convictions a Sequoyah County jury handed Fears in 2004.

The deadly spree began when Fears broke into his father's house and stole his shotgun after a neighbor criticized him about driving on a street where children lived and played.

During a 20-mile trek toward Roland, Fears killed 68-year-old Reba Spangler of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and 61-year-old Patsy Wells on October 26th, 2002.

Muskogee resident Jimmy Nunn, one of Fears' shooting victims who survived, called the court's ruling to reverse the convictions a mockery of justice.