MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama appeals court has upheld the capital murder case of a Birmingham man convicted of killing three relatives.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Friday on a challenge filed by 24-year-old Dontae Callen.
Callen was convicted of killing his 59-year-old aunt, Bernice Kelly, and two cousins, 33-year-old Quortes Kelly and 12-year-old Aaliyah Budgess. The three were found with stab wounds in a burning house in 2010.
The judges rejected Callen’s appeal, which included claims he should have been tried as a youthful offender. Callen was 18 at the time of the slayings.
The court didn’t overturn Callen’s conviction or death sentence. But they say a judge needs to rewrite a sentencing order to explain the reasons for the death sentence.
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