The nation’s highest court Monday declined to hear the appeal of a convicted murderer — leaving intact an Oklahoma ruling that appeals related to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision cannot be applied retroactively to undo a final conviction.
Clifton Parish, convicted of second-degree murder in southeastern Oklahoma, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court asking if the court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision applies retroactively to convictions prior the 2020 ruling.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals decided in August 2021 not to allow defendants an appeal based on the McGirt ruling if a final order was issued prior to the Supreme Court decision. That ruling remains after the nation’s top court declined to hear appeals from Parish and two others Monday.