Oklahoma man at center of tribal sovereignty case sentenced

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — A member of the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma whose case led to a landmark decision on criminal jurisdiction in tribal lands has been sentenced to life in a federal prison for sexual abuse of a child. Federal prosecutors in Muskogee announced Wednesday that 72-year-old Jimcy McGirt was sentenced for two counts of aggravated sexual abuse in Indian Country. McGirt was originally convicted in a state court in 1997. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the tribe’s reservation had never been disestablished and either federal courts or tribal nations have jurisdiction over crimes committed by or against Native Americans on tribal land, not the state.