Supreme Court rejects appeal of death sentence

PORTLAND – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a death sentence appeal by a Portland man convicted of killing a lesbian couple at a karaoke bar in 1998.

Eric Running, 53, was convicted in 2000 of aggravated murder in the shotgun slayings of Jacqueline Anderson, whom he had dated, and Barbara Gilpin, her sometime lover, in the Ambassador Restaurant and Lounge.

The Oregon Supreme Court last April affirmed the death sentence after rejecting all 36 issues Running had raised on appeal, including his claims involving the release of jury records and extreme emotional distress at the time of the shooting.

Running’s attorneys had argued at trial that he killed the two women during a mental breakdown fueled by alcohol abuse.

On appeal, Running’s attorneys argued that the judge improperly instructed jurors that they could only consider this form of insanity defense if they first found him not guilty of aggravated murder.

The Supreme Court said the judge correctly followed the law on the issue. The court also rejected Running’s claim that he deserved a new trial because the judge did not force the state to turn over jury records.