State Dismisses Case Of Man Accused Of Killing A Family Due To McGirt Ruling

The fate of a Tulsa man accused killing a family is in new hands due to the historic McGirt v. Oklahoma Ruling.

Steven Jameson was charged with killing a family in 2009 while driving being under the influence. His case is now one of many that were heard in court today and was dismissed by the state.

District Attorney Steve Kunztweiler said it's been a rollercoaster ride for the Mulanax family who died in a crash on Christmas Eve in 2009. The other driver, Jameson, was charged with three counts of manslaughter while driving under the influence of drugs. Now it’s back to square one for Jameson, after two of those counts were dismissed.

"This case in my mind is one of the true tragedies that have fallen on the victims' family," Kunzweiler said.

Kunzweiler said the decision comes after his office found out two of the three family members were Choctaw citizens. According to the McGirt decision, the charges for those two deaths will most likely be transferred to federal court.

In 2010, Jameson pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 24 years in prison. Last year, Jameson's guilty plea was thrown out by a judge, which started the process over. Jameson is currently attempting to prove his tribal membership as a Cherokee citizen.

"My concerns are going to be with the passage of time, I'm hopeful that the United States government, that they don't have some kind of limitation or statute of limitations on proceedings like this," Kunzweiler added. 

Kunzweiler said McGirt is causing pain for victims like the Mulanax family. 

"I'm hopeful that the U.S. Attorney's Office will at least be able to get some kind of justice in federal court but that's an unanswered question," said Kunzweiler. "This is only going to repeat itself over and over again this conflict of laws that needs to be resolved."

News on 6 reached out to Jameson's attorneys for comment and have not heard back. 

On Friday, the state did not make a decision on whether Jameson is a tribal member. There will be another hearing later in the month. This case was one of 70 that were heard Friday morning, which over half were dismissed.

News on 6 followed other high-profile cases. The state's decisions are as follows:

State of Oklahoma vs. Mathew Boll : First Degree Murder

Decision: Dismissed from state court 

State of Oklahoma vs. Christopher Carter: 1st degree manslaughter

Decision: No motion, set back to oct. 5th to proceed in state court

State of Oklahoma vs. Vicky McNeely: 1st degree murder

Decision: State deemed no native American jurisdiction; case will stay in state court. The jury trial will start Oct. 12th.

State of Oklahoma vs. Roger Allen Stevens: 1st degree manslaughter - automobile

Decision: Motion to dismiss not determined and will continue November 13th.