Convicted murderer William Morva has lost an appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
 
The state's high court today issued an opinion affirming Morva's capital murder convictions and death sentences.
 
Morva was found guilty in March 2008 of three counts of capital murder for the 2006 killings of Montgomery Regional Hospital security guard Derrick McFarland and Cpl. Eric Sutphin of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office. The third count came from killing two people in less than three years, a capital offense in Virginia.
 
A jury in Washington County Circuit Court, where Morva's trial was moved out of Montgomery County, recommended three death sentences. Circuit Court Judge Ray Grubbs upheld that recommendation.
 
Morva's defense attorneys appealed his death sentence, arguing that Grubbs should have appointed an expert on risk assessment in prison life to testify at Morva's trial.
 
In today's opinion, a majority held that Grubbs did not err in denying the request.
 
Morva could ask for a rehearing of his appeal before the Virginia court or could appeal to the United States Supreme Court.