The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled against Frank Casteel in his post-conviction appeal of his conviction in the 1988 murders of three men on Signal Mountain.
The appeals court, in a 43-page opinion, upheld the ruling of Judge Jerry Scott of Murfreesboro.
Almost two decades after the killings that two separate juries have found he committed, Casteel has continued to insist he was wrongfully convicted of the murders of Richard Mason, Kenneth Griffith and Earl Smock.
Attorney Ruth DeLange, assisted by attorney Chris Lanier, cited a number of alleged mistakes and omissions in the second trial.
District Attorney Bill Cox said the defense raised a lot of issues, "but they've all failed for lack of proof."
Judge Scott earlier told Casteel he had prepared the best petition he had seen in over 40 years of practice.
However, he eventually upheld the conviction.
Authorities said the fact the murders occurred in a remote area of Signal Mountain where Casteel had turned away a number of intruders with a shotgun pointed to Casteel.
The bodies were dumped at one location in Marion County and the ATVs the men were riding were found in another dump miles away.
The bodies were found stacked on one another and covered with barbed wire and pieces of junk. A woman walking by noticed the odor and first thought it was a dead animal.
Casteel, who is now in his early 60s, testified at a lengthy hearing in the post-conviction as did attorney John Cavett, who handled the second trial. Casteel was convicted by juries twice.