The Daily Oklahoman has this story on oral argument held yesterday in Magnan v. Trammell, which involves whether the Oklahoma state trial court had jurisdiction to try David Magnan for murders that, according to Magnan's attorney, occurred on Seminole land. Magnan was convicted of the first-degree murders of three people and sentenced to death in 2005. The question of whether the murders occurred on Seminole land appears to require tracing the title to a one-acre parcel of land back to a 200-acre property allotment more than a century ago.
If the murders occurred on Seminole land, Magnan would not be subject to the death penalty because the Seminole Nation has not agreed to application of the death penalty in its territory. Indeed, the Seminole Nation filed an amicus brief in support of Magnan's appeal.
If the murders occurred on Seminole land, Magnan would not be subject to the death penalty because the Seminole Nation has not agreed to application of the death penalty in its territory. Indeed, the Seminole Nation filed an amicus brief in support of Magnan's appeal.