US Supreme Court To Review Oklahoma's Indian Territory Murder Appeal

The Supreme Court will hear Oklahoma's plea to reinstate the murder conviction and death sentence of an American Indian.

The justices on Monday said they will review an appellate ruling that overturned the conviction and sentence of Patrick Murphy. He claimed he should have been tried in federal, not state, court because he is a member of the Creek Nation and the crime occurred in Indian territory.

The federal appeals court in Denver determined that the victim's body was found within the tribe's historical boundaries that take in several Oklahoma counties, and include much of the city of Tulsa. 

2/8/2018 Related Story: Oklahoma Appeals Ruling Overturning Murder Conviction

The court said the Creek Nation reservation existed before Oklahoma achieved statehood and was never formally deprived of its official status by Congress.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.