An appeal by death-row inmate Michael Ryan, convicted of one of the most heinous murders in Nebraska history, was rejected Friday by a federal appeals court
In doing so, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier ruling by the Nebraska Supreme Court.
Ryan, a former cult leader, was sentenced to death for the 1985 torture-murder of James Thimm at Ryan's cult's rural Rulo compound.
Ryan also was convicted in the beating death of Luke Stice, 5, the son of a cult member.