McGirt case still affecting victims
Trauma felt by victims of original crimes
In the past year, the name McGirt has become widely used shorthand for the U.S. Supreme Court decision on criminal jurisdiction in Indian country in Oklahoma.
The name evokes varying responses depending on a person’s view of the decision, which has led to most of eastern Oklahoma being affirmed as Indian reservations.
For one woman, the name evokes the horrors of being sexually abused as a four-year-old in 1996. Now, according to federal prosecutors, “every time B.B. sees, reads, or hears any type of ‘McGirt’ coverage, she is taken right back to the feelings she had as a helpless victim being perpetrated on by her step-grandfather some 25 years ago.”
Before “McGirt” was a court decision with momentous implications for the state of Oklahoma, Jimcy McGirt was a convicted child rapist. He was serving
two 500-year sentences and a life sentence for what he did to the girl in Wagoner County.
Those sentences were vacated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in July 2020 that McGirt was improperly tried by the state because he is a Native American and his crimes were committed on the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation, which was never officially disestablished by Congress. Under federal law, crimes involving Native Americans on Indian reservations must be tried in federal or tribal courts.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Muskogee quickly filed federal charges and won new convictions in November — with the help of testimony from the victim — for aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact in Indian Country.
In a court filing last week, prosecutors urged the judge in the case to sentence McGirt, now 72, to life in prison, even though doing so would require a term longer than the 210 to 262 months prescribed by federal sentencing guidelines. Before McGirt sexually abused the girl, referred to as B.B., they wrote, he served time for sexually abusing two young boys in Oklahoma County.
“The Defendant is a man who is sexually attracted to very young children,” the prosecutors said. “The Defendant has demonstrated that if released from prison, he will find yet another child victim. The Defendant must be held accountable for all of the children hurt by his conduct … the Defendant should be sentenced to Life in prison, as such a sentence would be sufficient but not greater than necessary.”
Prosecutors told the judge that they were not suggesting McGirt should be punished for the “historic ruling” that resulted from his case. But, they said, the resulting impact on the victim is relevant and McGirt’s denial of responsibility in the face of overwhelming evidence “demonstrates his lack of remorse.”
A sentencing date has not been set.
Sovereignty and justice
One aspect of the McGirt case and some associated cases that bore directly on the recognition of reservations has been the brutal crimes associated with them.
Death row inmate Patrick Dwayne Murphy, whose case reached the U.S. Supreme Court first and was the impetus for the McGirt case, mutilated a man, George Jacobs, and slit his throat. Shaun Michael Bosse, whose case led to the recognition of the Chickasaw Nation’s reservation, killed and set on fire Katrina Griffin and her two young children, Christian Griffin and Chasity Hammer. Devin Sizemore, whose case led to the recognition of the Choctaw Nation’s reservation, was convicted of first-degree murder in the drowning death of his 21-month-old daughter.
Tribal officials have been sensitive to the facts of the cases as they hailed the results. “Our hearts remain steadfast with the family this man victimized,” Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby said of the Bosse case. “We are in communication with the United States Attorney and appreciate his assurance that federal charges will be timely filed. We will continue our efforts to see justice done for the victim’s family.”
Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill said last month, “Since Indian Country’s victory in McGirt, the Cherokee Nation has made two priorities crystal clear: we will fight to protect every piece of our hard-earned sovereignty, and we will stand with victims and families to keep everyone on our reservations and our neighbors throughout Oklahoma safe.”
Jason Salsman, a spokesman for the Muscogee Nation, said the tribe “has made no mentions of Mr. McGirt or his crimes in any of our communications.
“In fact, we have been adamant about not using his name, rather calling it the Supreme Court’s decision affirming sovereignty. The reason for this is because the Muscogee Nation doesn’t see the decision as having anything to do with Mr. McGirt or his crimes. No citizen in Oklahoma, Native or non-Native, is above the law and the Muscogee Nation is looking forward to see the postMcGirt process play out as it should, with justice being served.”
An extra burden
U.S. attorneys and tribal prosecutors, working with the FBI and tribal and local law enforcement agencies, have filed dozens of cases stemming from McGirtrelated appeals.
Each victim impacted by the McGirt ruling has had to deal with the fallout, acting U.S. attorney Christopher Wilson and assistant U.S. attorney Sarah McAmis, of the Eastern District of Oklahoma, told the judge in the McGirt case. That includes new investigations and testifying again before new juries.
B.B.’s “entire world was plunged back into a black hole” when she was told the U.S. Supreme Court “had reversed the case against her abuser and that it would all have to start over,” the prosecutors said. But she “summoned the courage to again enter a courtroom and subject herself to direct and cross-examination about the pain she had kept so deeply buried for nearly 25 years.”
As “the victim in a ‘famous case,” the prosecutors said, B.B.’s burden was even heavier.
“The entire process has also been extremely difficult on B.B. because she is Native American,” they wrote.
“Members of B.B.’s community constantly discuss the ‘McGirt’ case around her without realizing she is the victim. The decision is celebrated by many in her community as an important, long awaited, and necessary decision for Native Americans. B.B. is proud of her heritage and firmly believes in the sovereignty of her tribe. However, she views the entire sea change through the lens of the person who has been most significantly impacted and who must suffer in silence while others cheer.”