Lawsuit Forthcoming for Brutal Killing by Escaped Inmates

By Merylee Robbins

Published on October 18, 2005

James Darren Harnage and Oscar Roy Doster escaped together from the Covington County Jail on March 31, 2005, and on April 6, the two men trespassed onto Courtney's Oakwood, Texas ranch. Harnage and Doster then bound, beat, and repeatedly shot Courtney, causing severe blunt force head injuries and several gunshot wounds to his body.

This incident was not the first time that Doster had escaped from Covington County Jail. In November 2002, Doster made his first escape, which he followed with a burglary and murder crime spree that lasted until he was rearrested in March 2005. According to the lawyer for Courtney's estate, Will G. Phillips, Doster should have been placed under strict supervision due to his previous escape and the violent nature of his crimes.

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