OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Supporters of an Oklahoma pharmacist convicted of murder have delivered petitions to Gov. Mary Fallin's office expressing outrage over the verdict.

Petitions containing the signatures of about 17,000 people were delivered Thursday by friends and family members of 59-year-old Jerome Ersland.

A jury in Oklahoma County convicted Ersland in May for the 2009 shooting death of a teenager who tried to rob the south Oklahoma City pharmacy where he worked. Prosecutors say Ersland was justified in shooting 16-year-old Antwun Parker once in the head, knocking him unconscious, but went too far when he pumped five more bullets into his abdomen, killing him.

Ersland was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

A spokesman for Fallin says Ersland must follow the normal legal process in appealing his conviction.