Tag: Oklahoma

Fire Torches Empty Oklahoma City Building Complex

A massive fire late Tuesday ripped through an empty five-story hotel and apartment complex in northwest Oklahoma City that was under construction, fire officials said. There were no injuries reported in the blaze at the construction site, which prompted a “five-alarm response” with more than 80 firefighters on the scene, said Oklahoma City Fire Department…


Oklahoma Executes Man for 2001 Slayings of 2 Hotel Workers

McALESTER, Okla.—Oklahoma executed a man Thursday for the brutal slayings of two hotel workers during a robbery in 2001. Donald Grant, 46, received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was declared dead at 10:16 a.m. It was the first execution in the United States in 2022 and the third in…


US Supreme Court Declines to Halt Pending Oklahoma Execution

OKLAHOMA CITY—The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request from a death row inmate in Oklahoma to stop his upcoming lethal injection. In a brief order, the court indicated 46-year-old Donald Grant’s application for a temporary stay of execution was denied. The decision paves the way for Grant to receive a lethal injection at…


Appeals Court Paves the Way for 2 More Oklahoma Executions

OKLAHOMA CITY—A federal appeals court rejected a request from two Oklahoma death row inmates to temporarily halt their upcoming lethal injections. A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver denied the inmates’ motion in a ruling on Monday. The decision paves the way for the state to carry out the…


Supreme Court Agrees to Consider If States Can Prosecute Non-Indians for Crimes on Indian Land

The Supreme Court announced Jan. 21 that it would consider whether its 2020 decision expanding tribal authority in Oklahoma should cancel out a non-Indian man’s conviction for abusing his part-Indian stepchild. The high court will consider whether states may prosecute non-Indians for crimes against Indians on Indian reservations but specifically refused to reconsider its 2020…


Oklahoma Bill Would Allow Parents to Remove Sexually Themed Books From School Libraries

A new bill proposed in Oklahoma state Senate would give parents the power to request certain books be pulled from the library of their children’s school, and to collect at least $10,000 for every day the school refuses to do so. Senate Bill 1142, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Rob Standridge, would allow parents of…


Oklahoma National Guard Bars Unvaccinated Airmen From Drills

In the wake of a federal judge rejecting Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s attempt to block the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements for National Guard members, the head of the Oklahoma National Guard announced Thursday that unvaccinated airmen will no longer be allowed to drill. While U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Thomas Mancino has backed the governor’s position…


Oklahoma Judge Denies State’s Request to Stop National Guard COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

An Oklahoma federal judge on Tuesday ruled against an attempt from the state to block the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for National Guard members. U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot rejected a motion from Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), Attorney General John O’Connor, and sixteen Oklahoma Air National Guard members for a preliminary injunction to the mandate, saying the…


Actor Who Played ‘Home Alone’ Brother Arrested in Oklahoma

OKLAHOMA CITY—“Home Alone” actor Devin Ratray surrendered to authorities in Oklahoma on Wednesday after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend, police said. Ratray, who played older brother Buzz McAllister in the 1990 Christmas movie, was released from jail shortly after his booking on two domestic assault and battery complaints, police said. Ratray, 44, was…


Oklahoma Executes Man for 1985 Slaying of School Teacher

McALESTER, Okla.—Oklahoma executed a man Thursday for the 1985 shooting death of an Oklahoma City-area schoolteacher after courts rejected his claim that the state’s lethal injection method would result in unconstitutional pain and suffering. Bigler Stouffer II, 79, received a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Stouffer was the first person…