Latest news with #KevinStill
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Oklahoma adopts harshest penalties for child sex offenders
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma is now one of the states with the harshest penalties for child sex offenses after lawmakers paved the way for the death penalty for crimes against children. Gov. Kevin Still signed Senate Bill 599 into law on May 22. Grove man convicted of sexually abusing child; jury recommends life sentence The new law grants prosecutors the authority to pursue the death penalty for individuals convicted of child rape on a first offense. Additionally, it allows judges to sentence individuals found guilty of lewd molestation of a child under the age of 14 to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Meet Brenda Andrew; Oklahoma's only woman on death row Delaware and Ottawa County District Attorney Doug Pewitt said a current U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibits the death penalty in child rape cases. 'If the court ruling changes, then we will seek to enforce the law,' said Pewitt. In May, Idaho lawmakers approved legislation allowing the death penalty in child rape convictions. Tennessee and Florida passed a law in 2024 and 2023, and Alabama is seeking to pass a similar law. In the 2008 Supreme Court ruling Louisiana permitted capital punishment for the rape of a child under 12 years old. In that case, Patrick Kennedy was convicted of violently raping his eight-year-old stepdaughter she needed emergency surgery to correct her injuries. Kennedy maintained his innocence and was sentenced to death. After the 2008 ruling, Kennedy was eventually sentenced to a life sentence. 'Not since 1964 had anyone in the U.S. been executed for any form of rape.' Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008) 'Oklahoma is sending a clear and unequivocal message: crimes against our most vulnerable citizens, our children, will be met with the harshest consequences,' said Sen. Warren Hamilton, R-McCurtain. Stitt's signing the bill into law reaffirms Oklahoma's commitment to justice and to protecting children from predators, he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Governor Stitt appoints special council to investigate Oklahoma Department of Mental Health
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Governor Kevin Still has appointed an attorney as special council to look into alleged mismanagement at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). Officials say Stitt has appointed Robert McCampbell and has given the Gable Gotwals attorney full authority to investigate possible abuse, waste, mismanagement, and fraud. LOCAL NEWS: Food is Medicine Act on Governor Kevin Stitt's desk for approval 'Robert and his team will leave no stone unturned, because the people of Oklahoma deserve to know exactly what went wrong and who is responsible,' said Governor Stitt. 'I want ODMHSAS to earn the public's trust and operate with the integrity that Oklahomans expect and deserve. These problems didn't develop overnight and solving them won't happen overnight either. But we are moving quickly, and we are not looking the other way.' In a letter to House Speaker Kyle Hilbert and Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, the appointment of special counsel is part of a set of reforms to stabilize the agency. The investigation will be independent and the counsel will report directly to the Governor's Office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
