Articles written by Sean Murphy
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Attorney for Oklahoma death row inmate claims new evidence
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An attorney for an Oklahoma death row inmate testified Wednesday that he has found new potential witnesses who might be able to help his client's case but who would be prevented from testifying by a state law because his...
EPA grants Stitt request for state oversight on tribal lands
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a request from Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's administration to allow the state, not tribal nations, to regulate environmental issues in Indian Country, even those lands that...
EPA grants Stitt request for state oversight on tribal lands
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved a request from Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's administration to allow the state, not tribal nations, to regulate environmental issues in Indian Country, even those lands that...
Audit of Oklahoma virtual school reveals numerous problems
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An embattled virtual charter school that has grown to become Oklahoma's largest public school used a "remarkably complex" infrastructure to divert tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into a for-profit business controlled by...
Stillwater parents sue school district over remote learning
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Stillwater Public Schools students and their families are suffering personal and financial hardships as a result of the district's distance and remote learning plan enacted because of the coronavirus pandemic, a group of...
Oklahoma group drops plan for redistricting state question
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A group seeking to change the way Oklahoma's state and congressional districts are drawn announced Tuesday it is abandoning its plans to seek a public vote on the issue. People Not Politicians Executive Director Andy Moore...
Oklahoma police chiefs express concerns about recruiting
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Growing anti-police sentiment around the country could have a profoundly negative impact on the ability to recruit quality officers, police chiefs from two Oklahoma cities told state lawmakers on Thursday. Tulsa Police Chief...
Oklahoma's epidemiologist warned of Trump rally deaths
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's former state epidemiologist warned that President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa in June could lead to as many as nine deaths and 228 new cases of COVID-19, according to documents released Wednesday. The documents...
University of Oklahoma students: Virus response inadequate
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — More than a dozen students gathered outside the University of Oklahoma's administration building Thursday to protest what they say is an inadequate response to the coronavirus pandemic. Students are violating the university...
Oklahoma upgrading COVID data, expects increase in positives
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma is making a number of changes to how it reports coronavirus data and expects an increase in the number of confirmed positive cases as a result, health officials said Friday. Among the changes, positive results from...
Attorneys file lawsuit seeking redress for Tulsa massacre
Attorneys for victims and their descendants affected by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre filed a lawsuit in state court on Tuesday against the City of Tulsa and other defendants seeking reparations for the destruction of the city's once thriving Black...
Appeals court rejects Oklahoma City anti-panhandling law
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma City law that places restrictions on panhandling on street medians is an unconstitutional violation of free speech, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th...
Democrats criticize Oklahoma governor, call for task force
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma House Democrats criticized Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday for failing to implement the recommendations of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and called for the creation of a state-level bipartisan task...
Survey shows third of Oklahoma schools don't require masks
Despite warnings from state and federal health officials, a recent survey shows more than one-third of Oklahoma's public-school districts don't require staff and students to wear masks. The informal survey of public schools released on Thursday...
Two women locked in GOP runoff, seeking to face Kendra Horn
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two Oklahoma City women, each touting their conservative credentials and support for President Donald Trump, faced off Tuesday in a testy GOP primary runoff for the opportunity to unseat the lone Democrat in the state's...
Moderate Tulsa mayor faces fierce political crosscurrents
By all accounts, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum has been a fast-rising political star in Oklahoma. Part of a political dynasty whose uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather all served as mayor of the state's second-largest city, the mild-mannered,...
Stitt submits application for $300 unemployment benefit
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Monday that he has submitted an application for unemployed Oklahomans to receive an additional $300 in federal unemployment benefits. Once the Federal Emergency Management Agency approves...
Oklahoma governor donates plasma after coronavirus recovery
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Several members of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's staff, along with five state lawmakers, have recovered from the coronavirus and have agreed to donate plasma to help other virus patients recover, Stitt's office announced on Tuesd...
Oklahoma education board OKs safety plan, makes it optional
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma State Board of Education approved a COVID-19 response plan on Thursday for actions local districts should take to slow the spread of coronavirus, but narrowly voted to make the plan optional instead of mandatory....
Oklahoma high court: Governor overstepped with tribal deal
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt overstepped his authority when he reached a casino gambling agreement with two Native American tribes, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In a 7-1 decision, the high court determined the compacts...
Education group pans Stitt's private school funding plan
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt faced criticism Monday for his decision to spend $10 million in discretionary public funds to pay Oklahoma families to send their children to private schools. Stitt outlined his plan late last week to...
Oklahoma moving inmates from private prison in Cushing
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Department of Corrections has announced plans to move about 1,400 inmates out of a medium-security private prison in Cushing that has been the site of some of the state's worst prison violence in recent years. The...
Justices rule swath of Oklahoma remains tribal reservation
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation, a decision that state and federal officials have warned could throw Oklahoma into chaos. The court's 5-4 decision,...
Pro-police group seeks to oust Oklahoma mayor, council
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A group of citizens in Oklahoma's third-largest city has launched a petition drive seeking to oust half of the City Council and the mayor for cutting police funding, building on resentment over the mayor's order requiring...
Tulsa mayor prepares mask order as coronavirus cases surge
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Tulsa's mayor said Friday he's preparing a local order to require masks be worn in public as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to surge. Mayor G.T. Bynum said in a Facebook post that he expects the ordinance...
