Convicted Oklahoma Killer Contends McGirt Is Retroactive

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Attorneys for a man convicted of murder in Oklahoma have appealed a state court’s ruling that a U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting state jurisdiction for crimes committed on tribal reservations by or against tribal citizens does not apply retroactively.

Court documents show attorneys for Clifton Parish, 37, on Monday asked the Supreme Court to overturn the August ruling by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

The state court agreed with a district attorney who argued that what is known as the McGirt decision did not specify that it could be applied retroactively and that a federal appeals court in a separate case found the ruling is not retroactive.

The McGirt ruling found that Oklahoma does not have jurisdiction for crimes committed on tribal reservations by or against tribal citizens.

Parish’s appeal said the case is ideal for the Supreme Court to resolve any question of whether the ruling applies retroactively.

“A conviction rendered by a court that lacks jurisdiction must be set aside at any time, even in post-conviction proceedings,” according to the appeal.

Parish, who was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2010 death of a man in Pushmataha County, has been charged in federal court with murder in the case and has pleaded not guilty.