Friday, April 17, 2026
Judge hears victims’ rights challenge in Butler case Bryson Thadhani
CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Payne County District Judge Michael Kulling spent three days this week hearing testimony on whether prosecutors and the court violated victims’ constitutional rights in the controversial case of Jesse Mack Butler. The evidentiary hearing, held under Oklahoma’s Marsy’s Law provisions, examined how Butler’s
teenage victims and their families were notified as the case moved through Payne County District Court, including during negotiations that led to a no‑jail youthful offender disposition that sparked public outrage. As of Thursday, Kulling had not filed a written ruling. Witnesses including court staff and members of the Payne County District Attorney’s Office were questioned about what information was shared with the victims, when they learned
of key hearings and plea discussions, and whether their objections were meaningfully considered. Attorneys for the victims asked Kulling to find that their rights were violated and to order new procedures to document that victims understand and agree that their rights have been honored, while prosecutors argued they followed Oklahoma law and said they are not required to apologize under the state’s Crime Victims’ Act. Marsy’s Law, approved by Oklahoma
voters in 2018, amended the state constitution to guarantee crime victims rights such as notice of hearings, a chance to be heard and the right to confer with prosecutors, and allows victims to ask courts to enforce those protections. Kulling’s eventual written opinion is expected to clarify how those constitutional rights and the Oklahoma Victim’s Rights Act apply in Payne County courtrooms and in future plea negotiations. news.ed@ocolly.com
Awareness Week at Oklahoma State Marcus Mesis
STAFF REPORTER
Oklahoma State Native American groups came together this week for Awareness Week. The Native American Student Association and the Center for Sovereign Nations partnered to host a series of cultural events meant to celebrate Native identity, build community and educate the wider campus. The week started with a stickball game on Monday, hosted by the Center for Sovereign Nations. Stickball is a traditional game from multiple tribes across Oklahoma. The next event was cornhusk doll making, where participants learned to craft traditional dolls from dried corn husks. These events brought Native culture to the forefront at Oklahoma State, said Kellon Collington, a Cherokee Nation citizen and Miss American Indian candidate. “I think that incorporating more cultural activities on campus, whether through the center or with Native Americans Student Association, we’re able to have more people be involved and come out and learn about our culture, our people, our traditions,” Collington said.
See NATIVE on page 2A
Courtesy of Calvin Plumb
Josh Crutchmer was on stage during the first night of The Boys From Oklahoma in April 2025.
Author, Editor, Historian Red Dirt music through Crutchmer’s lens BY BRYSON THADHANI
J
osh Crutchmer remembers the exact night his life tipped. He was 21, walking down The Strip with two hometown friends, looking for live music instead of another quiet drive through Payne County with Steve Earle and John Prine on repeat. Sound spilled from the upstairs doorway at
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CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Wormy Dog Saloon. He edition of The New York climbed the stairs, sat Times, deciding what leads down and watched a Red the front page and how it Dirt band play to a couple looks in ink. By night and hundred college students. on weekends, he is a music “That is the day that I journalist and author who stepped out of my life and has spent a quarter-century into my life,” Crutchmer chronicling Red Dirt music said. “That’s what became for outlets such as Rolling my future.” Stone and in books about That future is oddly the scene. specific. By day, he is planning editor for the print See LENS on page 4A Marcus Mesis, The O’Colly
Kellon Collington speaking to a high school tour.
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Behind the bar: College students keep The Strip pouring
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Storm chasers walk the line between awe and danger on the Plains
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The boys returned to town