Category: Oklahoma

Oklahoma Executes James Coddington for 1997 Hammer Killing

McALESTER, Okla.—Oklahoma executed a man Thursday for a 1997 killing. James Coddington, 50, received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced dead at 10:16 a.m. Gov. Kevin Stitt declined to commute Coddington’s sentence to life in prison without parole and rejected his petition for clemency. Coddington was the fifth…


Muskogee is Front and Center in Oklahoma’s GOP Primary Runoffs

Standing outside the Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce, Dice Dawson leans against his pick-up truck and talks about how his hometown is generating regional attention for its role in the Aug. 23 Oklahoma Republican primary runoff. Nestled along the Arkansas River around 50 miles southeast of Tulsa, Muskogee is part of Oklahoma’s 2nd Congressional District….


Man Pleads Guilty to Cyberstalking, Threatening to Kill Rep. Kevin Hern and Family

An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty on Wednesday for threatening to kidnap and kill a Republican congressman and his wife, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced. Keith Eisenberger admitted to cyberstalking and making threatening statements about Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) and his family between Nov. 27, 2018, and May 11, 2022. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our…


Oklahoma Football Coach Resigns After Reading Aloud ‘Shameful’ Word on Player’s iPad

Cale Gundy, a long-time assistant head coach for the Oklahoma Sooners, announced his resignation on Aug. 7 over an unspecified word he “read aloud” during a film session. The 50-year-old coach said in a statement on Twitter that he “should never—under any circumstance—have uttered” the word after he picked up a “distracted” player’s iPad and…


Police Say Oklahoma City Man Killed His 3 Children, Himself

OKLAHOMA CITY—An Oklahoma City man fatally shot his three young children then shot and killed himself early Saturday, according to police. A person jogging or walking called police after spotting the four bodies in a vehicle in a northwest Oklahoma City neighborhood about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, said Capt. Michelle Henderson. Henderson said the man and…


Inmate in Oklahoma Kills Officer at Privately Run Prison

HOLDENVILLE, Okla.—A corrections officer has died after being attacked by an inmate at an Oklahoma prison, officials said. The attack happened Sunday at the Davis Correctional Facility, which is a privately run prison in Holdenville about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southeast of Oklahoma City. The inmate attacked the officer while a group of inmates was…


Oklahoma Pair Arrested in Child’s Death, Body Was Burned

SEMINOLE, Okla.—An Oklahoma man and a woman described as his girlfriend were arrested for the death of a young child whose burned body was found in central Oklahoma, authorities said. Police in Seminole, about 50 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, found the child’s burned body Wednesday after receiving a tip, the Oklahoma State Bureau of…


Explosion Reported at Oklahoma Natural Gas Plant, Officials Order Evacuations

Authorities responded to a significant fire at the ONEOK natural gas plant close to Medford, Oklahoma, after an explosion was reported over the weekend. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday called on anyone who lives within a two-mile radius of the plant to evacuate Saturday afternoon. It’s not clear for how long. “Please avoid…


Execution Dates Scheduled for 6 Oklahoma Death Row Inmates

OKLAHOMA CITY—The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday set execution dates for six death row inmates, just hours before an attorney filed a motion for a rehearing in one case. Execution dates for James Coddington, Richard Glossip, Benjamin Cole, Richard Fairchild, John Hanson, and Scott Eizember were scheduled, starting Aug. 25 with Coddington and…


Supreme Court Upholds Oklahoma Child Neglect Prosecution in Ruling That Curbs Tribal Criminal Authority

In a complex 5-4 ruling that narrows its own 2020 decision enhancing tribal authority in Oklahoma, the Supreme Court ruled June 29 in favor of state’s prosecution of a non-Native American man convicted of neglecting his young Indian step-daughter on Indian territory. The decision is a win for the state of Oklahoma and the principle…