Oklahoman whose case led to McGirt ruling gets life sentence

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — A former Oklahoma death row inmate whose case led to a landmark ruling on tribal sovereignty has been sentenced to life in prison. Muscogee Nation citizen Patrick Murphy was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Muskogee. The 53-year-old was originally sentenced to die in McIntosh County for the 1999 killing of George Jacobs. But his attorneys challenged his murder conviction, arguing the state of Oklahoma didn’t have jurisdiction to prosecute him. A federal appeals court ultimately vacated his conviction, and the state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation’s high court ultimately issued its landmark ruling in a similar case with a different defendant, Jimcy McGirt.