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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma appeals court on Thursday upheld the murder conviction of death row inmate Richard Glossip, paving the way for Glossip to be executed on May 18, despite the state attorney general's concerns about some testimony and evidence. Glossip can still plead his case for clemency to the five-member Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, which could recommend that the governor spare the prisoner's life by commuting his sentence to life in prison without parole. Glossip has been scheduled for execution before and three separate...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday rejected clemency for a man facing execution this week for the 1997 hammer killing of a Choctaw man, despite a recommendation from the state's Pardon and Parole Board that his life be spared. James Coddington was convicted and sentenced to die for the beating death of his friend and coworker, 73-year-old Albert Hale, inside Hale's Choctaw home. Prosecutors say Coddington, who was 24 at the time, became enraged when Hale refused to give him money to buy cocaine. Coddington's e...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Legislature will return to the Capitol for a special session to consider tax cuts the governor wants and how to allocate federal COVID-19 relief funds that were part of the American Rescue Plan Act. After the session opens Monday, Gov. Kevin Stitt wants lawmakers to consider eliminating the state sales tax on groceries and reducing the top individual income tax rate from 4.75% to 4.5%. "Oklahoma is one of just 13 states that taxes groceries, and it most affects the people who can least afford it. Our strong f...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives confirmed Friday they have tested positive for the coronavirus, just days after a swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol in which many lawmakers and their families weren't wearing masks or practicing social distancing. Republican state Reps. Kevin Wallace of Wellston and Tammy Townley of Ardmore both confirmed in statements to The Associated Press that they have tested positive. Wallace said he tested positive before Wednesday's swearing-in ceremony and took his oath p...
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 and the city of Norman's mask mandates at bars, restaurants and at fraternity and sorority functions, OU student Kellie Dick, a senior from Shawnee, told The Associated Press. "We really need people to wear their masks, I don't want this to kill any more people than it already has," Dick said. There a...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Survivors and loved ones of the 168 people who were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing were not able to gather Sunday to mark the 25th anniversary of the attack, but that did not stop them from remembering. Because the annual remembrance ceremony was canceled due to coronavirus restrictions, those the victims instead were honored with a video tribute that included the reading of the names of those who died followed by 168 seconds of silence. Ordinarily, the city would have gathered Sunday at the memorial where the A...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Legislature on Monday granted sweeping new powers to the governor to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The House and Senate met in special session and approved the resolution under the never-before-used Catastrophic Health Emergency Act, which gives Gov. Kevin Stitt the authority to temporary suspend laws and regulations that interfere with the state's ability to respond to the pandemic. It also gives the governor the authority to redirect state employees and other resources, including up to $50 million stat...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge who last summer ordered consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million to help address the state’s opioid crisis on Friday reduced that amount in his final order in the case by $107 million because of his miscalculation. District Judge Thad Balkman’s latest order directs the company to pay the state $465 million. In it, Balkman acknowledged that he miscalculated in his original award how much it would cost to develop a program for treating babies born dependent on opioids. The cost should ha...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The man suspected of shooting three people inside an Oklahoma City restaurant before being fatally shot by bystanders had no obvious connection to the victims or the restaurant, and was legally authorized to carry a firearm, authorities said Friday. Investigators are trying to determine a motive behind the Thursday night attack that wounded four people, according to Oklahoma City Police Capt. Bo Mathews. He said the only interaction police had with the suspected gunman, 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman, was in during a d...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma state senator accused of grabbing an Uber driver's head and kissing her neck while she was driving him to a bar both resigned from office and was booked into jail Tuesday after being charged last week with felony sexual battery. Bryce Marlatt, 40, a Republican from the western Oklahoma city of Woodward, was booked into the Oklahoma County jail Tuesday morning and later released on a $5,000 bond. Marlatt's two paragraph letter of resignation to Gov. Mary Fallin, also a Republican, said he is resigning i...
