Oklahoma prosecutor argues that McGirt is not retroactive

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma appeals court has agreed to consider a prosecutor’s assertion that the McGirt decision, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the state lacks jurisdiction for crimes committed on tribal reservations in which the defendants or victims were tribal citizens, is not retroactive.

Pushmataha County District Attorney Mark Matloff says a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in a separate case found that the Supreme Court did not apply its ruling retroactively.

Matloff wants the state court to stop dismissal of the second-degree murder conviction of Clifton Parish for the 2010 beating and shooting death of Robert Strickland. Federal prosecutors have charged Parish with murder in the case.