Jimmy Harris was sentenced to death by the State of Oklahoma for a murder. According to court documents Jimmy Harris would go to his ex wife’s place of work and would shoot and kill Merle Taylor and would also shoot his ex wife who would survive her injuries. Jimmy Harris would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Oklahoma Death Row Inmate List
Jimmy Harris 2021 Information
Gender: Male
Race: White
Height: 5 ft 8 in
Weight: 238 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Alias: J M. Hirris
Alias: Jack O. Jones JR
OK DOC#: 408711
Birth Date: 10/20/1956
Current Facility: OKLAHOMA STATE PENITENTIARY, MCALE
Reception Date: 11/5/2001
Jimmy Harris More News
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that an Oklahoma death row inmate convicted of murder in 2001 can present evidence to a federal judge to determine whether his attorney’s assistance was ineffective.
Jimmy Dean Harris, now 63, was convicted of murder for fatally shooting Merle Taylor in 1999 at a transmission shop in Oklahoma City. He also shot his ex-wife, who worked at the shop, and she survived, The Oklahoman reported.
The high court on Monday upheld a ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted Harris a hearing before a judge in Oklahoma City to argue whether his attorney should have sought a pretrial hearing to assess if Harris was intellectually disable.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last October that Harris’ attorney should’ve requested the hearing because if Harris was determined intellectually disable, he would have been ineligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
The Oklahoma attorney general’s office requested that the Supreme Court reverse the appeals court decision, contending that the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals had determined that the evidence already showed Harris was not intellectually disabled.
Harris was first convicted of murder in 2001, but it was thrown out because the trial judge mistakenly answered a question from the jury. He was convicted and sentenced to the death penalty again in 2005.