TULSA, Okla. — The attorney for a teenager convicted of murder withdrew a motion to dismiss the case Thursday after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling's effect on tribal jurisdiction.
Jaydon Harring was convicted of murdering a 64-year-old woman, in a botched robbery in May 2017. The Supreme Court's ruling in the Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta case led to Thursday's hearing in Tulsa.
MORE >>> Supreme Court sides with Oklahoma, narrowing scope in McGirt ruling
Harring was one of four people convicted of crimes related to the death of Jeannie Blalock. At the time of the crime, Harring was 14 years old.
He pleaded guilty to First-Degree Murder, Second-Degree Burglary, Possession of a Stolen Vehicle, and a firearm charge in 2018 and was sentenced to life as a youthful offender.
In January 2022, Harring was sentenced to life in prison in the Department of Corrections as an adult.
However, the 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling had determined in the McGirt that if a suspect, victim, or both were Native American that the state could not be involved in the prosecution. In this case, Blalock was a tribal citizen of the Muscogee Nation.
"A convicted murderer came onto tribal land and murdered my mom... And got a conviction of life. And then could have been let out. And for how long. That blew our mind," says her son, Sherman Blalock.
Harring’s attorney filed a motion to withdraw his plea.
“But at that point we knew the Castro-Huerta case was up and pending in front of the Supreme Court," says Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Grey. "We anticipated oral argument in April and a decision in June. Which is what happened so Judge Keeley has been holding on to this case just to wait to see what the Unites States Supreme Court said.”
SCOTUS ruled in favor of Oklahoma on June 29.
"Castro-Huerta was very clear from the United States Supreme Court that in a case like this where you have a non-Native defendant, and a Native victim, the state has concurrent jurisdiction on that case."
SCOTUS’ decision means the life sentence stands.
"To see this like today. What a great win. I'm very thankful for the supreme court. Very thankful for Tulsa that… that the ruling was in their hands and that this is pretty much done," says Sherman Blalock.
This is the first case the Tulsa County District Attorney’s office handled since the Castro-Huerta decision. Multiple Oklahoma tribal leaders said they disagreed with that decision from the high court, but Blalock's family says the ruling helped close a difficult chapter for them.
"They do their time they go where they cannot hurt anyone else. They cannot be a menace to society, at any point, and that justice has been served here, finally."
Trending Stories:
- BWS Chamber of Commerce Pres. Sherry Gamble Smith found dead at Bixby home
- DOWNLOAD the 2 News Oklahoma app for alerts
- Neighbor recounts moments before Tulsa police shot woman
- FOLLOW 2 News Oklahoma on Facebook
- Oklahoma power companies under conservative operations advisory
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
