Supreme Court Denies Appeal in Oktibbeha Case

By Patsy R. Brumfield

Daily Journal

STARKVILLE – Death Row inmate Bobby Batiste will not get a rehearing on his appeal before the Mississippi Supreme Court.

With only three of nine justices supporting a hearing, he must take his case to higher court if he hopes to avoid execution by lethal injection.

Batiste of Preston was sentenced to death in 2009 for the death of his roommate in Oktibbeha County. Robbery was ruled an underlying felony, which made Batiste eligible for the death penalty.

His appeals attorneys insist prosecutors failed to prove Batiste robbed 28-year-old Andreas Galanis of Biloxi in 2008.

They also claim Batiste told authorities he panicked after hitting his roommate, then left to later return and see blood. During the clean-up, Batiste got Galanis’ wallet along with other bloody items.

Last May, the supreme court voted 6-3 that it would not abandon following the “one continuous transaction” rule in determining whether the evidence establishes a connection between the killing and the underlying felony to constitute capital murder.

Voting to grant him a re-hearing were justices James Kitchens Jr., Jess Dickinson and Leslie King.