Justifiable homicide; authorizing appeal of certain ruling to Court of Criminal Appeals. Effective date.
Senate Bill 657 amends Oklahoma law regarding when a peace officer's use of deadly force is considered justifiable. The bill allows peace officers or individuals assisting them to appeal a pretrial ruling that finds their use of deadly force unjustified. These appeals must be made to the Court of Criminal Appeals within ten days of the ruling and are given priority, with other legal proceedings paused during the appeal. This creates a specific legal avenue for officers to challenge certain pretrial decisions related to their use of force.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
Mar 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Signed into Law
May 2025
Introduced Feb 3, 2025
Signed May 14, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
Floor (House)
→
Floor (Senate)
·
4 edits
MODERATE
This bill version transitioned from the House to the Senate floor, with substantive changes to the justifiable homicide statute. The Senate version adds new conditions for when officers can use deadly force, including specific criteria for arrests involving serious bodily harm and escape attempts. It also establishes a new appeal process allowing officers to challenge unjustified deadly force rulings in the Court of Criminal Appeals within 10 days, with priority given to such appeals.
Scope change
The bill now applies to peace officers, correctional officers, and persons acting under their command, with expanded criteria for justifiable use of deadly force during arrests and escape prevention scenarios.
ELIGIBILITY
Added specific criteria requiring probable cause that arrest involves serious bodily harm or escape attempts using deadly weapons
ENFORCEMENT
Created new appeal mechanism allowing officers to challenge unjustified deadly force rulings in Court of Criminal Appeals within 10 days
REQUIREMENT
Reorganized deadly force justification criteria into four distinct categories with more detailed sub-requirements
TIMELINE
Added effective date of November 1, 2025, and 10-day appeal window for officers
Floor votes
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
23
Key actions
7
Committee
6
May 14, 2025
Signed into law
Approved by Governor 05/13/2025
upper
May 7, 2025
Committee
Referred for enrollment
upper
May 7, 2025
Lower · Passed
Third Reading, Measure passed: Ayes: 80 Nays: 10
lower
Apr 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
CR; Do Pass Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight Committee
lower
Apr 8, 2025
Lower · Passed
Policy recommendation to the Judiciary and Public Safety Oversight committee; Do Pass Criminal Judiciary
lower
Apr 1, 2025
Committee
Referred to Criminal Judiciary
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
lower
Mar 27, 2025
Upper · Passed
Engrossed to House
upper
Mar 26, 2025
Committee
Referred for engrossment
upper
Mar 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Measure passed: Ayes: 38 Nays: 7
upper
Mar 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported Do Pass Judiciary committee; CR filed
upper
Feb 3, 2025
Introduced
First Reading
upper
2 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
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