SHAWNEE — An investigation into comments made by several McCurtain County officials and County Sheriff Kevin Clardy hasn’t revealed evidence that would force the sheriff’s removal, Attorney General Gentner Drummond told members of the Oklahoma Press Association last Saturday.
Drummond, speaking at the OPA’s annual convention, said the comments made by Clardy were deplorable, but added that being a racist wasn’t against the law.
“As much as I would like racism to be against the law, it is not,” the attorney general said. “So, the fact that we have a sheriff, or county commissioners or elected or appointed officials in the county that are pigheaded racists well, the solution is at the ballot box.”
Drummond said the information his investigators have discovered has not risen to the level of him seeking an ouster of the sheriff.
“Now, the investigation is ongoing,” he said. “There may be other things that are discovered, but being a racist is not grounds for an ouster. The voting public of McCurtain County can certainly vote him out next time.”
As attorney general, Drummond said, he must operate inside the rule of law irrespective of his personal feelings. “Personally, I’d like to go out there and whip him with my pistol and drag him out of office, but you don’t want an attorney general doing that. You want an attorney general that operates inside the law.”
Though Drummond expressed frustration with charged atmosphere in McCurtain County, he was more positive about the plight of convicted murder Richard Glossip. Drummond said he did not believe that Glossip would be executed.
Drummond has been active and vocal about the Glossip case.
Glossip has been on death row for more than 20 years after being convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Barry Van Treese. The case has been back and forth between courts and this year. In April, Drummond filed an affidavit with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate the conviction after an independent counsel’s report raised legal and ethical questions about how the state handled the case.
Last Saturday Drummond told Southwest Ledger he expected the case to go back to an Oklahoma County District Court. “I think it (the Glossip case) will be remanded back to Oklahoma County for that county to adjudicate it” he said. “And if that’s the case, I predict it will probably be pled out.”
Drummond’s support of a new trial for Glossip has drawn a terse response from the state’s District Attorneys Council. In a filing with the U.S. Supreme Court, the council wrote that it was interested in the case because a state court had unanimously concluded that Oklahoma prosecutors properly followed all legal requirements in prosecuting Glossip and said the state court’s decision should stand.
Saturday, Drummond said he respected the state’s district attorneys but didn’t mind disagreeing with them.
“They have enjoyed years and years of absolute obedience by the AG, and I respect the DAs,” Drummond said. “But we’re gonna disagree and when we disagree, I’m gonna stand my ground. And we disagree on Richard Glossip.”