Murderer in quadruple Houston slaying loses appeal

HOUSTON (AP) — A man on Texas death row for his involvement in a 1992 drug-related Houston shooting that left four people dead, including a seven-months-pregnant woman, and two others wounded has lost a federal court appeal, moving him closer to execution.

Arthur Brown Jr. unsuccessfully argued to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals poor legal help at his trial in Houston prevented jurors from hearing about how his mother's alcohol abuse when she was pregnant contributed to his behavior.

The court ruling Tuesday showed Brown and three companions travelled from Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Houston to buy cocaine and marijuana from two of the victims, who had sold drugs to them in the past. Two of the shooting survivors testified against Brown. One of Brown's partners, Marion Dudley, was executed in 2006.