US Supreme Court denies Oklahoma death row inmate’s appeal

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a last-minute appeal filed by Oklahoma death row inmate Benjamin Cole. The high court’s decision on Wednesday paves the way for the 57 year old to be executed Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Cole was convicted and sentenced to death for killing his 9-month-old daughter Brianna Cole by forcibly bending the infant backward, breaking her spine. His attorneys have not disputed that he killed the child, but they say he is severely mentally ill and that he has brain damage that has worsened while he has been in prison.