Post-conviction relief denied for Oklahoma man convicted of triple murder

MCCLAIN COUNTY, Oklahoma (KFOR) – A man convicted of a horrific triple homicide in Oklahoma, whose case revolved around a recent US Supreme Court ruling, was recently dismissed.

On July 9, 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Muscogee (Creek) reservation was never dissolved under the McGirt ruling.

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It is a ruling that has had a huge impact on the state’s criminal justice system.

“For anyone with an Indian card, a CDIB card, a certified grade of Indian blood,” Native American attorney Robert Gifford told KFOR. “If they are within the Creek Nation, the state of Oklahoma had no jurisdiction over them.”

Heads of State including the Chief of the Seminole Nation, Greg Chilcoat, District Attorney Paul B. Smith, and Attorney General Mike Hunter met to discuss the McGirt decision and how to proceed with past and present cases involving Indians on tribal land were involved. (Photo: KFOR)

Shortly after the verdict, many Oklahomans were uncertain about the jurisdiction of the state and prosecution options in much of eastern Oklahoma.

“In general, the United States Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling has created significant confusion, particularly with regard to inmates in state custody for crimes on historic tribal land,” said then Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter in August 2020.

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Following the Supreme Court ruling, Hunter said his office had been flooded with appeals that he would oppose.

“The McGirt case is not a free pass to prison release,” Hunter said. “We will not allow our judicial system to be exploited by people who have murdered, raped or committed any other serious crime while the federal government is considering whether to reopen their cases or decide.”

In particular, one file concerned the case of Shaun Bosse, a man convicted of the murder of his girlfriend and their two children.

In 2012, Shaun Bosse was convicted of the murder of his girlfriend, 25-year-old Katrina Griffin, and their two young children; 8 year old Christian Griffin and 6 year old Chasity Hammer.

Katrina Griffin

In 2010, authorities discovered the family’s bodies in a burned-out motor home near Dibble.

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After Bosse was found guilty of their murders, he was sentenced to 35 years of arson and fined $ 25,000.

8 year old Christian Griffin and 6 year old Chasity Hammer

Bosses lawyers argued that although Bosses is not a tribal citizen, the victims were Native Americans and the crime took place on Chickasaw land. As a result, they argued that the state did not have the power to prosecute him.

“We take the position that the state has the right and the responsibility to protect Indian citizens from killers like Mr. Bosse,” said Hunter.

In March 2021, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals overturned Bosse’s verdict and verdict, saying the state had no jurisdiction to prosecute him because the historic boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation were never lifted.

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“He’s benefiting from the people he’s killed,” said Cleveland County’s District Attorney Greg Mashburn. “It would be a travesty of justice if he got less than death.”

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In a twist, an Oklahoma appeals court ruled that the US Supreme Court’s McGirt ruling did not apply retrospectively to cases.

As a result of that ruling, Bosse’s sentence and sentence were resumed in September.

Bosse’s attorneys filed documents with the Oklahoma Criminal Court of Appeals seeking discharge after the conviction.

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Court documents state that “Mr Bosse’s first ground of appeal should not be followed by a post-conviction appeal. Mr Bosse’s convictions and judgments were final in 2018, long before the McGirt Supreme Court ruled in July 2020. “

“[Mr. Bosse’s] legitimate interests in a legal remedy after the conviction for this jurisprudence error are minimal or nonexistent. McGirt does not raise serious questions about the truth-finding function of the state courts that have tried [Mr. Bosse] and so many others in latent violation of the Major Crimes Act. The erroneous jurisdiction of the state court (which went unnoticed until many years later) had no impact on the procedural protection that Mr. [Bosse] was granted at the trial. The trial provided an accurate picture of his criminal behavior; the conviction was confirmed on direct review; and the trial did not result in an unjustified conviction or punishment of an innocent person. A reverse of Mr. [Bosse’s] The final conviction would undoubtedly be a monumental victory for him, but not justice, ”the documents say.

Overall, the court rejected his request for discharge after the conviction.

KFOR is proud to be part of the Oklahoma Media Center, established by the Local Media Foundation with financial support from the Inasmuch Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation, which is a collaboration between several Oklahoma newsrooms / outlets that provide print, broadcast – and digital platforms. The OMC’s latest project focuses on the McGirt SCOTUS judgment. This story is part of this effort called the Promised Land

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