USA - Oklahoma. The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the death sentence of David Magnan

The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the death sentence of David Magnan, 50, Native American. The federal court of appeals ruled 3-0 that the Seminole County District Court did not have jurisdiction because the murders Magnan was convicted of committing were on Indian land. Magnan is illegally being held in state custody “because jurisdiction over Magnan's crimes rests exclusively with the United States, rather than the state of Oklahoma,” the judges wrote in a 36-page decision. “Given the nature of the crimes and Magnan's admitted guilt, we presume that federal authorities will arrest and try Magnan following his release from state custody,” wrote the judges of the Denver-based court. Magnan pleaded guilty in state court to the March 3, 2004 murders of Lucilla McGirt, Karen Wolf and James Howard at Howard's rural home in an ongoing family dispute. In 2004 he had been sentenced to death on each murder count and received a life sentence on the remaining count. However, he appealed his conviction, arguing that because the crimes occurred on 'Indian Nation' land, the state had no right to prosecute him. The Court of Appeals acknowledged that the triple homicide had taken place on an Indian reservation, and that only federal court has power to hold trial for Seminole Nation murders. The judgment came with the presumption that federal authorities will intercede and re-arrest and prosecute Magnan. If he is ever tried federally though, it's likely Magnan will not face the death penalty as it is rarely imposed in federal courts.