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Thread: Miles Sterling Bench - Oklahoma Death Row

  1. #21
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Miles Bench Trial: Stepfather Takes Stand, Sentencing Starts

    The stepfather of Miles Bench takes the stand as sentencing begins in Stephens County.

    Miles Bench was found guilty of first degree murder, for the killing of Braylee Henry at a Velma convenience store.

    Bench's stepfather testified he and his stepson had a domestic dispute in 2008 while living in Illinois.

    The stepfather said Bench had been arguing with him about chores, and Bench's mother suggested they "duke it out."

    The man said Bench punched him in the eye multiple times then put him into a sleeper hold.

    The state called two Velma teenagers to testify about encounters they had with Bench at the store.

    One of the girls said Bench showed aggressive behavior, chasing her car in the parking lot.

    She said he wanted to learn her name and asked if they could hang out later.

    The other testified she was at the convenience store the day before the muder.

    She said Bench followed her around the store and told her she was pretty after he put his arm around her.

    We'll have more from Duncan coming up tonight on KFDX 3 News.

    http://www.texomashomepage.com/story...DkmzIYJZPgKw5Q
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #22
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    Miles Bench Trial: Childhood Friends Take Stand

    Miles Bench's childhood in Wilmington, Illinois is the focus of testimony in Stephens County.

    Bench was found guilty of first degree murder, for the killing of Braylee Henry at a Velma convenience store.

    In the punishment phase, the defense called several childhood friends and special education teachers from Bench's time in Wilmington.

    Several witnesses said Bench suffered from learning disabilities as a child, but was always respectful and seemed to know right from wrong.

    Bench's second and third grade teacher said Bench seemed embarrassed whenever he needed help with school work.

    She also said Bench would joke around whenever things were tough, but she said he always seemed sad to her.

    Bench's Wilmington neighbors testified Bench was bullied though out school, due to him being in special education classes.

    They also said Bench's stepfather could be heard yelling at Miles from the street, and that he was tougher on him than they thought he deserved.

    The testimony has adjourned due to weather travel conditions and is set to continue Thursday morning at 10.

    http://www.texomashomepage.com/story...DkmzIYJZPgKw5Q
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #23
    Senior Member CnCP Addict Stro07's Avatar
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    Oklahoma jury recommends death penalty in 2012 slaying of girl, 16

    DUNCAN — After deliberating for almost two hours, a Stephens County jury recommended the death penalty for a man convicted of killing a 16-year-old girl, District Attorney Jason Hicks said Thursday.

    Miles Bench, 23, of Velma, showed little reaction when the death penalty verdict was read Thursday evening, Hicks said.

    Bench was convicted Feb. 26 in Stephens County District Court with first-degree murder in the June 2012 death of Braylee Henry.

    The Henry family “is relieved to finally see justice in the brutal murder of their daughter,” Hicks said.

    The 7-man, 5-woman jury asked the court one question during the 1 hour and 43 minutes of deliberation.

    “They asked whether life without parole meant life without parole,” Hicks said.

    Henry was killed June 6, 2012, after she went to a Velma convenience store for a soft drink and a candy bar. Her body was found in a field a month later.

    http://newsok.com/oklahoma-jury-reco...rticle/5398973

  4. #24
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    Oklahoma man headed to death row for murder of 16-year-old Velma girl

    VELMA, Okla. – The man convicted in the murder of a 16-year-old Oklahoma girl was formally sentenced on Wednesday.

    Miles Bench, 24, will be put to death for the 2012 murder of Braylee Henry.

    Bench was convicted of beating Henry to death in the back room of a convenience store in Velma. The victim’s mother said her daughter barely knew Bench’s name.

    Henry’s mother spoke exclusively with NewsChannel 4 after the sentencing.

    She says while she will never have closure, she forgives her daughter’s killer.

    Braylee Henry’s murder haunted the small town of Velma, Oklahoma.

    The 16-year-old was brutally murdered at the Tee Pee Totem convenience store where Miles Bench was a clerk.

    A jury convicted Bench in February.

    “Today has been a relief for me and my family. This part of seeking justice for my daughter is over. We won’t be in the presence of [Bench] anymore,” Renee Henson, Braylee’s mother, said.

    Bench had nothing to say to Braylee’s family in court Wednesday. He only recited scripture before the judge sentenced him to death.

    “To be quite honest with you, it’s heart-wrenching. My heart goes out to him and his family, it really does,” Henson said.

    Henson told us she forgives Bench.

    “I think I have, sometimes. I don’t think it’s something you do right away. It’s a journey,” Henson said.

    Henson testified during the trial that Braylee had gone out for candy the night of her murder. The teen was a new driver.

    “I was nervous, but I said, ‘I’ve got to let you go,’ and she just smiled and said, ‘Yes, you do Mom.’ But I didn’t know that meant forever,” Henson said.

    A motive for the murder has never been revealed.

    Now Bench, who’s 24-years-old, is headed to Oklahoma’s death row.

    It’s justice for Braylee’s family, they say, but not closure.

    “I’m not a psychiatrist, I’m not a doctor. I’m not a counselor, I’m a mother. I don’t believe you get closure from the loss of a child, and I don’t know if I want closure because that means I’ve closed a chapter of her life,” Henson says. “I will remember Braylee’s beautiful heart. She was a loving, beautiful girl who could always make you laugh.”

    Henson said she was grateful for the jurors and the decision they made.

    Bench’s attorneys asked for a new trial before Wednesday’s sentencing, but the judge denied their request.

    Bench will be transported to the state penitentiary in McAlester within 10 days.

    http://kfor.com/2015/05/13/oklahoma-...ld-velma-girl/

  5. #25
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    Bench taken to state prison

    By Rachel Snyder
    The Duncan Banner

    Convicted murderer Miles Bench was received by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections early Monday.

    Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney said Bench, 24, was taken to the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center for processing and was probably moved to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester’s H-unit, which houses Oklahoma’s death-row inmates.

    Bench’s beat Velma teen Braylee Henry, 16, to death in the back room of the Tee Pee Totem convenience store, where he worked as a cashier, on June 6, 2012.

    A jury of five women and seven men convicted Bench of first-degree murder Feb. 26, and recommended he be sentenced to death by lethal injection March 5. Associate District Judge Brent Russell upheld that sentence and denied his attorneys--Mitch Solomon and Shea Smith--their request for a new trial May 13. A tentative execution date was set for August 6.

    During his trial, multiple officers discussed receiving reports of the missing store clerk and, later, a missing teen the night of the murder.

    Officers soon found Henry’s body about 100 yards from Bench’s grandparent’s home.

    Bench was arrested after OnStar pings led law enforcement to Henry’s car near mile-marker 80 on Interstate Highway 44 in Custer County. Blood was found in the car and Bench was taken to the Custer County Jail before being taken to Stephens County.

    A former Custer County jailer said Bench told him after his arrest that he may have blacked out and killed somebody.

    District Attorney Jason Hicks and Assistant District Attorney Leah Edwards argued Bench intentionally killed Henry and understood the consequences of his actions during the trial, while Solomon and Smith argued Bench was in the midst of a psychotic break at the time of the murder.

    The verdict and sentence came after multiple competency hearings, two change of venue requests and arguments over the death penalty as a possible punishment before the trial.

    Solomon and Smith have already filed a notice of intent to appeal the sentence, and Oklahoma Indigent Defense System Capital Post-Conviction Division Chief Kristi Christopher will represent Bench during the appellate process, according to court documents.

    The Indigent Defense System provides trial, appellate and post-conviction legal services for defendants determined to be entitled to legal counsel at state expense.

    Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s criminal appeals unit will represent the state during the appellate process.

    Court costs in the case are $34,927.45, according to court documents.

    http://www.duncanbanner.com/news/ben...=image&photo=0

  6. #26
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    On March 7, 2018, oral argument will be held in Bench's direct appeal before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

    http://www.okcca.net/online/

  7. #27
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    Court affirms conviction of Oklahoma death row inmate

    OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of a man sentenced to die for the beating death of a 16-year-old Stephens County girl.

    The court handed down the decision Thursday to 27-year-old Miles Sterling Bench, who was found guilty by a Stephens County jury of the June 6, 2012, death of Braylee Henry of Velma. He received the death sentence in May 2015.

    Prosecutors alleged Bench beat Henry at the convenience store where Bench worked. Her body was found in a pasture owned by Bench’s grandparents, who Bench lived with at the time.

    Bench was arrested shortly afterward near Weatherford, where he was found driving Henry’s car.

    Among other things, the appeals court rejected claims that Bench didn’t receive a fair trial. His attorney, Katrina Conrad-Legler, didn’t immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

    https://kfor.com/2018/10/04/court-af...th-row-inmate/
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  8. #28
    Administrator Moh's Avatar
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    In today's orders, the US Supreme Court DENIED Bench's certiorari petition.

    Lower Ct: Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
    Case Numbers: (D-2015-462)
    Decision Date: October 4, 2018
    Rehearing Denied: November 7, 2018

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/search....c/18-8723.html

  9. #29
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    Oklahoma court overturns another death penalty, cites McGirt

    By Associated Press

    An Oklahoma appeals court on Thursday overturned the death sentence of a man who was convicted of killing a teenager, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the state lacks jurisdiction for crimes committed on tribal reservations in which the defendants or victims were tribal citizens.

    The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction and sentence of Miles Sterling Bench, 30, in the 2012 beating death of 16-year-old Braylee Henry inside a convenience store in Velma, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, where Bench worked.

    Prosecutors say Henry entered the store to purchase a soda and candy when she was attacked. Her body was later found on property owned by Bench's grandparents. Bench worked in the store.

    The state court found that Bench is a member of the Choctaw Nation and that the crime occurred on land within the historic Chickasaw Nation reservation.

    The court has now overturned at least four death sentences and could toss as many as six more based on the Supreme Court ruling, known as McGirt.

    The overturned cases now fall to federal authorities to pursue. Court records show Bench has been charged in federal court with kidnapping resulting in death and faces a potential death sentence.

    The court records do not list an attorney who could speak on Bench's behalf.

    Although federal prosecutors have the authority to pursue the death penalty, the tribal nation must also agree and only one — the Sac & Fox Nation of Oklahoma — has explicitly authorized the death penalty in federal cases.

    https://www.startribune.com/oklahoma...irt/600054321/

  10. #30
    Moderator Bobsicles's Avatar
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    Oklahoma Appellate Court Rejects Death Row Inmate's Appeal

    A state appeals court has rejected the appeal of an Oklahoma death row inmate who was sentenced to die for killing a 16-year-old girl in 2012.

    By Associated Press

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state appeals court on Wednesday rejected the appeal of an Oklahoma death row inmate who was sentenced to die for killing a 16-year-old girl in 2012.

    The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied Miles Bench’s motion for an evidentiary hearing and to stay proceedings in his death penalty appeal.

    Bench, 30, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to die in 2015 for killing Braylee Henry after she bought gas at the Tee Pee Totem convenience store in Velma where Bench worked.

    Bench argued among other things that the state lacked jurisdiction because he is a Choctaw Nation citizen and the killing took place within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation reservation. He also argued that the trial court erroneously handled jury selection, that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment because of his age at the time of the crime, 21, and that both his trial and appellate attorneys were ineffective.

    The court rejected those claims.

    Bench's state public defender did not immediately respond Wednesday to a message seeking comment.

    District Attorney Jason Hicks, whose office prosecuted the case, said he was relieved that the court again determined Bench received a fair trial.

    “Bench brutally murdered a 16-year-old child in 2012 and her family deserves to see justice served," Hicks said in a statement. “While I recognize the fight in this case is not over, this is a great step in the right direction."

    https://www.usnews.com/news/us/artic...inmates-appeal
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