The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a sentence of Life in Prison for a man convicted of first degree murder in Pottawattamie County. In it’s decision, the Court rejected the appeal of Dan Dorris, who was convicted of 1^st Degree Murder and Willful Injury, for the May 12, 1998 shooting of Timothy Osbourne, in Council Bluffs. The Willful Injury charge was merged into his Life sentence.

Dorris appealed the district court decision denying his request for postconviction relief from his conviction for first-degree murder. In its decision, the Appeals Court said the district court did not act improperly by failing to record a postconviction hearing, by not having sufficiently specific findings of fact and conclusions of law in its decision, or by denying Dorris’s request to file a pro se supplemental brief.

The Appeals Court said Dorris has also not shown he received ineffective assistance of counsel.