BISMARCK (AP) - The North Dakota Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by an Oklahoma man convicted of hiring a hit man to kill his son-in-law in North Dakota.
Gene Kirkpatrick asked to have his conviction overturned because he believes his trial lawyer, Mack Martin, made a mistake by not allowing him to testify. Kirkpatrick went to the Supreme Court after a state judge denied his motion.
Kirkpatrick is serving life in prison without parole for paying a man to kill Fargo dentist Philip Gattuso in October 2009 because Kirkpatrick thought Gattuso was a poor parent to his granddaughter.
Prosecutors say Martin is an accomplished lawyer who has 35 years of experience as a criminal prosecutor.