Oscar Doster’s Appeal Denied for Capital Murder Convictions and Death Sentence

Attorney General Steve Marshall has announced that the Alabama Supreme Court has denied the appeal of the capital murder convictions and death sentence of Oscar Doster.  Doster, 43, of Andalusia, was convicted in 2006 of three counts of capital murder in the death of Paul LeMaster.

According to court documents, on November 4, 2002, four inmates escaped from the Covington County jail, including Doster and his co-defendant, Bobby O’Lee Phillips.  Two days later, they stole guns and ammunition from an unoccupied trailer. Documents say Doster and Phillips then went to a nearby trailer, where Phillips shot and killed the owner of the trailer, Paul LeMaster as he was cooking dinner.  Doster and Phillips stole money and the keys to LeMaster’s truck.

Investigators say the two traveled to Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, where they committed a string of burglaries. On November 18, 2002, Texas State Troopers arrested Doster and Phillips near Sorora, Texas.

A Covington County jury convicted Doster of three counts of capital murder. The trial judge sentenced Doster to death. Doster’s subsequent attempts to have his convictions and sentence reversed on appeal have been rejected.  The Attorney General’s Capital Litigation Division handled Doster’s case during the appeals process, including Doster’s present petition to overturn his convictions and sentence. The Alabama Supreme Court denied that request Friday, June 15.

Phillips was also convicted of capital murder for killing LeMaster, and was sentenced to death.