A man sentenced to die for killing his estranged wife's...

A man sentenced to die for killing his estranged wife's employer got a new sentencing hearing because the trial judge answered the jury's question about Department of Corrections policies. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ordered resentencing for Jimmy Dean Harris, who was convicted of killing Merle G. Taylor, in 1999. Harris was convicted of 1st-degree murder in the shooting death of Taylor, who died as he tried to protect Harris' estranged wife, Pamela. The trial error was caused when District Judge Virgil C. Black answered the jury's question about Department of Corrections policies. Jurors wanted to know where a person would be confined if sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Judge Black told the jury an inmate is processed through the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center and classified based on a number of factors. The Department of Corrections has the sole discretion for placement of inmates based on its criteria, he said, adding any inmate may be placed at any of the 25-plus facilities. Any instruction attempted by the judicial branch about future actions of the executive or legislative branch in these areas is doomed to inaccuracy, it said. There is simply no clear answer to this type of question and for that reason none should be attempted, the Court of Criminal Appeals said.