OCPA column: McGirt is protecting criminals, not average citizens

McGirt is protecting criminals, not average citizens By Jonathan Small The public-safety crisis created by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma can be summed up by one anecdote included in recent court briefs. Many criminals now assert tribal membership to deter arrest—including “a known member of the white-supremacist Universal Aryan Brotherhood, covered in swastika tattoos.” McGirt was hailed as a victory for tribal citizens. Instead, it’s been a windfall for society’s dregs who now actively target American Indians. That’s made clear in briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by law-enforcement officials and major city leaders. Under McGirt, many crimes involving a mix of Indian and non-Indian cannot be prosecuted by state or tribal officials and must instead be handled by federal officials. And federal officials are declining to prosecute many crimes other than things like murder or rape. “This nonenforcement policy amounts to a ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’ for any non-Indian suspect accused of certain crimes against Indians falling below the U.S. Attorneys’ thresholds,” a brief filed by Oklahoma’s district attorneys and sheriffs stated. Read more » by Jamison Faught - November 03, 2021 at 01:41PM

OCPA column: McGirt is protecting criminals, not average citizens Click the title to read the entire article at Muskogee Politico