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The Oklahoma attorney general on Friday asked the Supreme Court to overturn its 2020 ruling asserting tribal sovereignty, arguing the ruling had led to a “criminal justice crisis.”
Why is this important: The petition comes a day after Patrick Murphy, an Oklahoma death row inmate whose challenge led to the ruling, was again convicted in federal court of murder and kidnapping, AP reports.
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Newly appointed Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor says in petition the High Court ruling has led thousands of state prisoners to challenge decades-old convictions, many of whom can no longer be continued.
The context: The Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, last year that much of eastern Oklahoma remains a Native American reservation, meaning Oklahoma prosecutors did not have the power to prosecute criminal charges against Murphy.
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“The decision (…) is now pushing thousands of victims of crime to seek justice from federal and tribal prosecutors whose offices are not equipped to process these requests,” the petition said.
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“Many crimes go uninvestigated and prosecuted, endangering public safety.”
What they say : O’Connor’s petition calls for the Supreme Court to consider restricting the application of its ruling to allow violent felons convicted before the ruling to remain in state prisons.
The other side: Lawyers for some tribes say state warnings are overblown and federal and tribal courts are trying to manage the workload.
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Chief Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. has accused O’Connor and Cherokee Nation Gov. Kevin Stitt (right) of pursuing an “anti-Indian political agenda.”
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“The governor has never attempted to cooperate with the tribes to protect all Oklahomans,” Hoskin said in a statement. “It is perfectly clear that he always intended to destroy the Oklahoma reservations and the sovereignty of the Oklahoma tribes, at whatever cost.”
Our thought bubble: Native American activists say if state officials want to prosecute non-tribal members, the state should make deals with the tribes instead of trying to get the federal government to overturn tribal sovereignty, Russell Contreras said. of Axios.
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Tulsa’s attorney, Brett Chapman, a registered member of the Pawnee Tribe, said state officials were simply hostile and trying to ignore tribal sovereignty. “McGirt is the law of the land and they have to get over it,” he told Axios.
To note: O’Connor filed the motion in connection with Shaun Bosse’s case. Bosse, a death row inmate, was convicted in 2010 of the murder of his girlfriend and two children.
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Although Bosse is not a tribal citizen, his victims were and the murders took place inside the Chickasaw Nation reservation.
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