Sherman Murder Defendant Loses Effort to Overturn His Death Penalty in Racially Tinged Prosecution 

A Sherman man convicted of killing his stepdaughter in a horrific triple slaying in 2004 lost his bid Tuesday for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his death sentence on his argument that his trial counsel was ineffective because his lawyers failed to question more than one of four prospective jurors who admitted to racial bias in pretrial questioning and allowed three to be seated because counsel did not use any preemptive strikes.The Supreme Court denied review of Andre Lee Thomas’ federal habeas corpus petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and his right to a fair jury.The court’s decision was…