Oklahoma court overturns two death sentences, citing McGirt
April 29, 2021
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OKLAHOMA CITY- The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday overturned the death sentences of two more convicted killers, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Oklahoma lacks jurisdiction for crimes on tribal reservations in which the defendants or victims are tribal citizens.
The court reversed the convictions of Benjamin Robert Cole Sr., 56, and 59-year-old James Chandler Ryder. Cole had been sentenced to death for killing his 9-month-old daughter in Rogers County in 2002.
Ryder had been sentenced to death for the 1999 killing of Daisy Hallum, 70, and to life without parole for killing her son, Sam Hallum, 38, in Pittsburg County.