Steve Kunzweiler

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Steve Kunzweiler
Tulsa County District Attorney
Assumed office
2014
Preceded byTim Harris
Personal details
Political partyRepublican

Steve Kunzweiler is the current Tulsa County District Attorney.[1] He has worked on shows for the Forensic Files, See No Evil and 60 Minutes.[2] He is on the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council.

Career[edit]

News[edit]

Steve Kunzweiler was first elected in November 2014.[3] In 2014, Kunzweiler challenged his opponent Fred Jordan's candidacy "in the Aug. 26 Republican primary runoff." Kunzweiler was "chief of the Tulsa County district attorney's criminal division. Kunzweiler argued that Jordan isn't eligible to serve as DA because of a pay increase approved by the Legislature earlier this year."[4] In 2018, Kunzweiler ran against Jenny Proehl-Day, who was running on a social justice platform and claimed Kunzweiler "denies that there’s any racial bias in the system."[5] Kunnzweiler was elected for his second term.[6] He worked under the former DA, Tim Harris, the longest serving DA in Tulsa History.[7] Harris did not seek reelection and announced his run in 2017 for U.S. Congress District 1.[8] In 2018, Kunzweiler was the prosecutor during the Bever family murders trial.[9] In 2016, "he filed felony first degree manslaughter charges against" Betty Shelby.[10] By 2018, he had "charged three police officers with shootings — Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy Robert Bates, Shelby and Shannon Kepler (an off-duty officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teen in 2015) — earning convictions on both Bates and Kepler."[11]

In 2020, Kunzweiler declined charges toward Black Lives Matter protestors in Tulsa who painted the street with the words "Black Lives Matter, "referring the case back to the Tulsa city attorney’s office."[12] In 2021, Kunzweiler refused to charge the man who drove into BLM protestors, paralyzing a man, Ryan Knight, who "fell from an interstate overpass as the truck pulling a horse trailer drove through the group of protesters on Interstate 244. The 32-year-old was paralyzed from the waist down."[13] He "stopped short of endorsing proposals for harsher penalties for protestors or blanket immunity for drivers."[14] Also in 2020, Kunzweiler defended Harris's work when Harris was accused in the 2020 NBC Dateline investigative episode of allegedly coercing one of two formerly convicted Black Tulsa brothers into confessions.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Atchison's lawyer Joseph Norwood, pointed out that "If Harris and Kunzweiler questioned the credibility of the lone witness against Atchison, the case should have been dismissed."[25]

In 2021, Kunzweiler said that the ruling on McGirt "isn't just a criminal matter but can also affect businesses."[26] Kunzweiler and First Assistant District Attorney Erik Grayless were to blame for "a public censure from the Oklahoma Bar Association after admitting during a professional tribunal last year that interns she supervised represented the agency in numerous criminal cases without being properly licensed" that happened in 2021.[27]

In 2019, Kunzweiler organized a DA breakfast "where they could all come together for the first time ever" to later "feel comfortable to pick up the phone and call one of the district attorneys if they have a question about proposed legislation" that would affect their work.[28] District Attorneys including Steve Kunzweiler have criticized the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, who want the board to be more conservative in their considerations for parole and commutation, despite the Republican Governor Kevin Stitt having expressed full confidence. In an article written by Tulsa World, the DAs were said to be taking an increasingly more political role that has "to some degree weakened" the board's influence.[29] Dark money conservative attack ads targeting Stitt as not tough enough on crime started airing in 2021.[30] The state of Oklahoma has the third highest incarceration rate in 2021 and its 2018 numbers show it incarcerates the most women per capita.[31][32]

In 2022, Kunzweiler's office wrote a protest letter against April Wilkens's application for parole.[33] It is speculated that the board did not grant her a hearing this period at least in part due to the protest letter.[34] Hers was one of the first cases Tim Harris prosecuted as DA, and Harris later accepted campaign contributions after the trail from Terry Carlton's father, Don Carlton, as well as from Kunzweiler's wife.[35][36] The same month as Wilkens was being denied parole by the (at the time) all-male board, they unanimously recommended the Crossbow Killer, Jimmie Stohler, be granted parole in the same meeting.[37] Any DA protest for Stohler's release would have come from Kunzweiler's office. Governor Kevin Stitt approved the board's recommendation for Stohler's parole. Still, he reversed his decision, citing new but undisclosed "information" in what the Tulsa County DA's office had sent him.[38] Stitt reversed his decision after accusations of racism for not also releasing Julius Jones.[39]

In 2024, he was invited by Kevin Hern as his guest to attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union.[40][41] He was invited because of his correlation to fentanyl overdoses, blaming immigration happening through the U.S. and Mexico border.[42]

Kunzweiler has supported the cross-deputization of police officers with tribal police to avoid confusion about who has jurisdiction.[43]

Controversies[edit]

In June 2022, after the fall of Roe, a representative of No Forced Birth OK have called Kunzweiler "no friend to the Black community, the Indigenous community, to the gay community, to any community except white straight men."[44] On failure to protect laws, Kunzweiler said he viewed himself as a father punishing his daughters and that '"prosecutor’s job was to 'teach people the morals they either never learned or they somehow forgot.'"[45] He has explained female incarceration "using a metaphor about spanking."[46]

In early 2022, Kunzweiler's daughter stabbed him. Before her hearing, he called for greater mental healthcare reforms in the state.[47] Doug Drummond, presiding judge for the 14th district, recused the entire district from the case. She was found not guilty by reason of mental illness in 2023. The attorney "representing...Jennifer Kunzweiler, said the not guilty verdict she received...in Tulsa County District Court around charges related to the September stabbing of her father had little to do with her position as a member of a powerful Tulsa family."[48]

In 2024, after president Biden released a statement on the death of Nex Benedict, Kunzweilers' office would not comment on their death "until prosecutors have received all reports related to the investigation, including the full findings from the medical examiner."[49] On March 21, 2024, it was announced that no charges would be filed for the fight involving Nex, which was considered "an instance of mutual combat."[50]

Legislation[edit]

In 2023, Kunzweiler spoke out about several bills introduced in the same legislative session, all dealing with lessening the penalties for cockfighting. HB 2530, pushed by Justin Humphrey, died on April 13, 2023, for the second year in a row. Kunzweiler said he was glad cockfighting remained a felony.[51] Mike Osburn co-authored House Bill 1792 with Dave Rader[52] that would lessen the penalties of also dogfighting in the state of Oklahoma, which sparked pushback from animal rights advocates.[53] A third bill authored by Lonnie Paxton, Senate Bill 1006, died in the Senate. It would have also lessened the penalties for cockfighting in the state, similar to House Bill 2530, but died in the same timeframe.[54]

In 2024, Kunzweiler supported Kevin West's HB 3694 bill that would undo 2016 state question voted on by the people. It was also authored by Julie Daniels and John George.[55] It "would revert the minimum value of goods stolen to qualify as a felony larceny back down from $1,000 to just $500." The bill was criticized by Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform Executive Director Damion Shade.[56] This is a SQ 780 rollback that would increase incarceration and essentially set the bar back to where the voters raised it in 2016." A representative of the organization Oklahoma Appleseed called it one of their "Bad Bills."[57]

Personal life[edit]

Kunzweiler and his wife, Christine Kunzweiler, have three daughters. In September 2022, a daughter with mental illness stabbed Kunzweiler multiple times but he managed to survive.[58] He is mentioned in the podcast Panic Button: The April Wilkens Case as having confronted a Tulsa social worker about how domestic violence advocates need to get survivors to testify, otherwise they are not really being abused.[59]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ OK.gov. "District Attorneys Council".
  2. ^ IMDB. "Steve Kunzweiler".
  3. ^ "Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler".
  4. ^ "State Lawmaker Is Eligible For District Attorney Job, Court Rules". KGOU.
  5. ^ "'I'm here to listen' Jenny Proehl-Day centers criminal justice reform in her run for district attorney". Tulsa People.
  6. ^ "Steve Kunzweiler elected to second term as Tulsa County DA". KRMG.
  7. ^ Fisher, Rich (July 24, 2018). "A Talk with Tim Harris (R), Who Is Running to Represent the 1st Congressional District of Oklahoma". Public Radio Tulsa.
  8. ^ "Former Tulsa County D.A. Tim Harris Declares For U.S. Congress District 1". News on 6. April 24, 2017.
  9. ^ "Bever Murder Trial To Continue Into Week Three". April 29, 2018. pp. News 9.
  10. ^ "Tulsa Officer Charged With Shooting Terence Crutcher Surrenders, Released On Bond". KOSU.
  11. ^ "Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler wins second term". Read Frontier.
  12. ^ "District attorney declines charges against 'Black Lives Matter' protestors". KRGM.
  13. ^ "D.A. STEVE KUNZWEILER WILL NOT CHARGE MAN WHO DROVE INTO BLM PROTESTERS". The Black Wall Street Times. January 12, 2021.
  14. ^ "Proposed Legislation Would Protect Oklahoma Drivers Who Hit Protestors". Public Radio Tulsa. February 22, 2021.
  15. ^ IMDB. "The Long Road to Freedom".
  16. ^ McDonnell, Brandy (June 18, 2020). "'Dateline NBC' special 'The Long Road to Freedom' to focus on wrongfully convicted Tulsa brothers". The Oklahoman.
  17. ^ "Dateline Episode Trailer: The Long Road to Freedom | Dateline NBC". June 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Rosenberg, Eli (July 16, 2019). "Two brothers were wrongly convicted of separate murders. Now they are reunited as free men". Washington Post.
  19. ^ "Tulsa man sues state after wrongful murder conviction resulting in imprisonment for 28 years". Tulsa World. September 24, 2020. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020.
  20. ^ "Malcolm Scott, wrongfully convicted of murder, hopes to see shift in wake of George Floyd protests". NBC News.
  21. ^ "'I can't hold no grudge. Life's too short:' Corey Atchison found actually innocent after 1991 murder conviction". Tulsa World. June 17, 2019. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021.
  22. ^ "Dateline NBC episode on Friday features two Tulsa brothers wrongfully convicted for murders". Tulsa World. June 19, 2019. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021.
  23. ^ "DATELINE NBC TO AIR FRIDAY SPECIAL ON DECADES-LONG FIGHT BY TWO BROTHERS TO OVERTURN THEIR WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA". June 17, 2020.
  24. ^ "Two brothers fight to prove their innocence on tonight's 'Dateline NBC: The Long Road to Freedom'". KARD. June 19, 2020.
  25. ^ "Corey Atchison's attorney issues statement in response to Tim Harris, Steve Kunzweiler comments". 2 News Oklahoma.
  26. ^ "Tulsa County DA holds town hall to discuss concerns related to McGirt ruling". 2 News Oklahoma. March 31, 2021.
  27. ^ "Tulsa County assistant prosecutor censured after interns found practicing law; justices place blame with DA, first assistant". Tulsa World. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021.
  28. ^ "DAs and local lawmakers discuss ways to work together". 2 News Oklahoma.
  29. ^ "Stitt expresses confidence in Pardon and Parole Board". Tulsa World. December 5, 2021.
  30. ^ "Dark money group targets Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt with Fox News attack ads". Tulsa World. December 2, 2021.
  31. ^ "States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021". Prison Policy.
  32. ^ Kajstura, Aleks. "States of Women's Incarceration: The Global Context 2018".
  33. ^ "#AprilsStory The Lone Crusaders". VNN. March 22, 2022.
  34. ^ "#AprilsStory The Lone Crusaders - VNN". YouTube.
  35. ^ "DA's Race Among Most Monied". Tulsa World. June 21, 2006.
  36. ^ "FAMILY & PERSONAL".
  37. ^ "Oklahoma Pardon & Parole Board Votes To Recommends Parole For 'Crossbow Killer'". News On 6.
  38. ^ "Gov. Stitt reverses course, denies parole for crossbow killer". KFOR. 2022.
  39. ^ "GOVERNOR STITT REVERSES RELEASE OF KILLER EX-COP AS JULIUS JONES SITS IN PRISON". The Black Wall Street Times. 2022.
  40. ^ "Tulsa County DA Steve Kunzweiler attends State of the Union". 102.3 KRMG. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  41. ^ "Hern to bring Tulsa County DA as guest to the State of the Union". U.S. Representative Kevin Hern. March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  42. ^ Dobberstein, John (March 7, 2024). "Hern's guest at Biden's SOTU will be Tulsa County DA". Broken Arrow Sentinel. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  43. ^ "ICYMI: Cross-deputization means nontribal police can arrest Native suspects - The Muscogee Nation :The Muscogee Nation". www.muscogeenation.com. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  44. ^ Caldwell, Elizabeth (June 25, 2022). "'Today is the day we pay attention': attorney urges local action after fall of Roe v. Wade". Public Radio Tulsa.
  45. ^ MICHAELS, SAMANTHA (2022). "MICHAELS". Mother Jones.
  46. ^ Stillman, Sarah (October 29, 2018). "America's Other Family-Separation Crisis". New Yorker.
  47. ^ "Tulsa County district attorney's daughter found not guilty of stabbing father". 2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa. January 27, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  48. ^ "Lawyer: Status of father had little to do with not guilty verdict for DA's daughter in stabbing case". Public Radio Tulsa. January 27, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  49. ^ "President Biden on Nex Benedict's death: 'No one should face the bullying that Nex did'". The Oklahoman. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  50. ^ "No charges to be filed in fight involving Oklahoma nonbinary teen Nex Benedict". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  51. ^ staff, Sunny Leigh, KTUL (April 14, 2023). "Bill to reduce penalties for animal fighting shut down in Oklahoma Senate". KTUL. Retrieved April 16, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  52. ^ "Bill Information". www.oklegislature.gov. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  53. ^ Staff, Mckenzie Richmond, KTUL (April 12, 2023). "An Oklahoma bill could dramatically reduce punishment for dog fighting". KTUL. Retrieved April 13, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  54. ^ News, E. I. N.; PACELLE, WAYNE (April 13, 2023). "Pro-Cockfighting Bills Fail in Oklahoma Legislature". EIN News. Retrieved April 14, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  55. ^ "Bill Information". www.oklegislature.gov. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  56. ^ "Bill on penalizing larceny would undo 2016 state question". 2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa. March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  57. ^ McCarty, Colleen (March 7, 2024). "Opinion: Keeping track of good and bad criminal justice bills proposed by Oklahoma lawmakers". Tulsa World. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  58. ^ Hayes, Jana (September 28, 2022). "Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler stabbed; daughter arrested". MSN.
  59. ^ Panic Button: The April Wilkens Case (2022). "The True Experts".
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