Oklahoma Court rules no jurisdiction in American Indians case

(AP) – The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has again ruled that Oklahoma has no concurrent jurisdiction over crimes committed on tribal lands by non-American Indians against American Indians. The court on Thursday rejected the state’s appeal of the dismissal of the manslaughter conviction and 19-year prison sentence of Richard Roth. Roth, who is not Native American, was convicted in the 2013 death of 12-year-old Billy Jack Chuculate Lord, a member of the Cherokee Nation. Lord was riding his bicycle when he was struck from behind by a vehicle in Wagoner, which is within the Creek Nation.