The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected a bid by El Campo native Demond Bluntson to overturn his conviction for killing two children in Laredo in ’12. Bluntson’s attorney argued he was wrongly denied the right to represent himself during trial. While his death sentence was thrown out in June over faulty jury instructions, his guilty verdict stands. Bluntson was convicted of killing his 21-month-old son and his 6-year-old stepson in a hotel room. He remains on death row, awaiting a new punishment phase in court.