Former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver is taking the appeal of his murder conviction to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Oliver, 41, is serving a 15 year prison term for the April 2017 shooting death of an unarmed teenager who was leaving a party. Jordan Edwards was a passenger in a car of teens. Oliver claimed the shooting was in defense of a fellow officer who was near the car. Testimony during the trial indicated the car was driving away from the officer and he did not feel his life was in danger.
In the appeal Oliver wants the High Court to order a new trial on grounds that statements he gave to an internal investigator were immunized and should not have been allowed in his trial.
"Appellant made statements to other police officers that he reasonably thought were compelled – he was in fear of losing his job. The Dallas Court failed to give Appellant's statement to a Sheriff's deputy the immunity it deserved and improperly shifted the burden to Appellant to prove that the State improperly used immunized 22 statements. Also, the Dallas Court erred in rejecting Appellant's two jury instruction errors." the appeal says.
The 5th Court of appeals in Dallas rejected a similar appeal Aug. 10.
