The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the conviction of John Lotter, who's on death row for the triple murder that inspired the 1999 film "Boys Don't Cry."

Lotter has said the state used a threat of torture -- the electric chair -- to coerce his friend Thomas Nissen into lying about the murder of Teena Brandon and two others in southeast Nebraska.

But in a ruling issued Friday, the high court rejected that argument.

Lotter and Nissen were convicted of the 1993 murder of Brandon, a 21-year-old who lived briefly as a man and dated their female friend. The men also killed two others who witnessed Brandon's death in the farmhouse near Humboldt.

“John Lotter is guilty of a triple homicide," says Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning. "He has repeatedly challenged his convictions and each time has failed. The court made clear today that nothing in Tom Nissen’s recent affidavit, even if believed, alters Lotter’s guilt of these crimes. We will continue to press for the enforcement of Lotter’s sentence.”

Lotter has maintained since his arrest that he is innocent.