Oklahoma AG used frontier-era law to charge Robert Morris

Clemishire went public with her story last June, sparking national headlines. Drummond revealed in an NBC News interview Thursday that his prosecutors asked for permission to examine a criminal case against Morris and he approved it.

“I frankly have walled myself from that investigation and prosecution and was pleased that the grand jury believed that there was enough evidence to indict Mr. Morris,” Drummond told NBC News.

Drummond said his staff used a frontier-era statute written more than a century ago to prosecute outlaw cowboys who roved the Old West committing crimes in different states.

He said Oklahoma and other frontier states have a provision in their laws that allows them to pause the statute of limitations when someone from out of state commits a crime and then flees the state.

Since Morris was a traveling evangelist who did not reside in Oklahoma when he is alleged to have committed the crimes, Drummond and his prosecutors argue that there was a pause on the statute of limitations.

“Certainly, that will be challenged in a court of law, and we are prepared to meet that challenge,” Drummond said in the interview. “I anticipate that there will be, ultimately, case law made on this case.”

University of Oklahoma College of Law professor Tracy Pearl told NBC News that case law supports Drummond’s interpretation of the frontier-era law.

“From a policy perspective, I think these sorts of provisions that toll the statute of limitations when somebody is located out of state makes sense,” Pearl argued. “We don’t want to disadvantage the state or prosecutors in cases in which they may have a really limited ability to find the defendant and then extradite them back to the state.”

In the interview, Drummond expressed his support for ending the criminal statute of limitations in cases of rape. He hopes more survivors will be inspired to come forward with Morris’ indictment.

“If you are a victim of child abuse, one, my heart goes out to you,” he said. “Two, if it occurred in the state of Oklahoma, contact me. Let’s not assume that we cannot bring your offender to justice.”

In launching his bid for Oklahoma’s 2026 gubernatorial election to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt, Drummond received a major endorsement from the Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police, which has over 6,500 members.

“As a tough-on-crime Attorney General and decorated fighter pilot, I’ve proven I will always fight for our freedom and defend our values,” he said. “Whether it was leading the first U.S. combat mission in the Gulf War, taking on the Biden Administration’s radical overreach, or standing up to Mexican cartels and Chinese crime syndicates, I will never back down from the battles we must fight.”