<p>OKLAHOMA CITY &mdash; An Oklahoma appeals court on Thursday overturned the death sentence of a man who was convicted of killing a teenager, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the state lacks jurisdiction for crimes committed on tribal reservations in which the defendants or victims were tribal citizens. </p>
<p>The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction and <a href="https://apnews.com/b5f88fd527a04770bed92ab458a882aa">sentence</a> of Miles Sterling Bench, 30, in the 2012 beating death of 16-year-old Braylee Henry inside a convenience store in Velma, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, where Bench worked.</p>
<p>Prosecutors say Henry entered the store to purchase a soda and candy when she was attacked. Her body was later found on property owned by Bench’s grandparents. Bench worked in the store.</p>
<p>The state court found that Bench is a member of the Choctaw Nation and that the crime occurred on land within the historic Chickasaw Nation reservation.</p>
<p>The court has now <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oklahoma-courts-crime-bfa6837fe9a1f11f2bd1d1c8e77ef64e">overturned</a> at least four death sentences and <a href="https://apnews.com/7f5157ead8e2b7a71f1b668493b117d0">could toss</a> as many as six more based on the Supreme Court ruling, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-courts-supreme-courts-oklahoma-virus-outbreak-c90c395f1e156d37a85e59e0a21cb52a">known as McGirt.</a></p>
<p>The overturned cases now fall to federal authorities to pursue. Court records show Bench has been charged in federal court with kidnapping resulting in death and faces a potential death sentence.</p>
<p>The court records do not list an attorney who could speak on Bench’s behalf.</p>
<p>Although federal prosecutors have the authority to pursue the death penalty, the tribal nation <a href="https://apnews.com/article/86b9734f456846e9b0df9faa0237122f">must also</a> agree and only one — the Sac &amp; Fox Nation of Oklahoma — has explicitly authorized the death penalty in federal cases.</p>