10 on death row may get new trials
OKLAHOMA CITY >> As many as 10 death row inmates in Oklahoma, more than onefifth of the state’s prisoners condemned to die, could escape execution because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling concerning criminal jurisdiction in Indian Country.
The inmates have challenged their convictions in state court following the high court’s ruling last year, dubbed the McGirt decision, that determined a large swath of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation. The decision means that Oklahoma prosecutors lack the authority to pursue criminal charges in cases in which the defendants, or the victims, are tribal citizens.
Among the inmates likely to get a new trial in
federal court is Shaun Michael Bosse, 38, who was convicted and sentenced to death in the 2010 killing of Katrina Griffin and her two young children. The victims were all found inside a burning mobile home near Dibble, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.
Dozens of other inmates convicted in non-death penalty cases also are seeking to have their convictions tossed, which is expected to result in a dramatic increase in the workload of federal prosecutors.
Although Bosse is not a tribal citizen, the court determined that Griffin and her children were Native Americans and that the crime occurred on land inside the Chickasaw Nation’s historic reservation.
The decision is particularly frustrating to District Attorney Greg Mashburn, whose office prosecuted Bosse.
“He’s benefiting from the people he killed,” Mashburn said. “It would be a travesty of justice if he got anything less than death.”
Mashburn said another trial would also revictimize Griffin’s family, who were pleased with the outcome of the state trial.