Oklahoma Murder Conviction Reversed Due to Sexual Relationship Between Judge, Prosecutor
OKLAHOMA CITY—An Oklahoma appeals court on Thursday threw out a first-degree murder conviction because of a sexual relationship between the judge and a prosecutor in the case.
In a 3–2 decision, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new trial for defendant Robert Leon Hashagen III, who was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder in 2021. Mr. Hashagen’s attorneys later appealed after new evidence emerged of an undisclosed sexual relationship between the trial court judge, Timothy Henderson, and one of the prosecutors in the case.
The majority opinion found that “the undisclosed relationship violated Hashagen’s due process rights.”…