Colleen McCarty Challenges for Tulsa District Attorney

Updated: McCarty presents a damning indictment of the current DA’s office, which she characterizes as rife with corruption, misconduct, and a toxic culture.

Updated: On Friday, March 6, Tulsa District Attorney candidate Colleen McCarty shared details of her personal and professional path, describing how her family's entrepreneurial background influenced her decision to transition into a legal career.

McCarty’s case for her candidacy against incumbent Steve Kunzweiler (first elected in 2014) began by detailing what she describes as systemic corruption, mismanagement, and injustice in the office.

Colleen McCarty, Tulsa District Attorney Candidate. Photo: Arnett

McCarty’s narrative begins with the founding story of her family’s business, the Bama Pie Company, rooted in the hardship of the 1920s. That story is told in the 1987 book, “A Piece of the Pie” available on Amazon at this link. Her great-grandmother, Cornelia Alabama “Bama” Marshall, started the company with just $1.29 after her family faced extreme poverty on a non-producing sweet potato farm.

Bama’s sweet potato pies became legendary, with lines forming around the block of the drug store where she worked. McCarty’s grandfather, Paul, the youngest of eight, showed his ingenuity by first driving delivery trucks and later spearheading the company’s expansion. Following a family model where each sibling opened a pie shop in a new city (including Shreveport, Houston, and Oklahoma City), her grandfather and grandmother consolidated the business in Tulsa.

A true innovator, her grandfather developed a mechanized pie line for handheld fried pies—a rectangular design that broke from the traditional round pie format.

McCarty said, “He didn’t have consultants, he didn’t have AI, he didn’t have Google. He didn’t have anything more than an idea. But he created a mechanized pie-line that had never been done before.”

His entrepreneurial drive led him to cold-call and secure a handshake deal with Ray Kroc of McDonald’s, in the early 1960s. Kroc transformed McDonald’s into a global fast-food empire after purchasing the franchise rights from the McDonald brothers in 1961. The Bama agreement evolved into a global contract to supply handheld pies to McDonald’s.

Her mother, Paula Marshall, became CEO in 1985 after winning the position over her two brothers. Under her leadership, the company diversified, tripling in size to a multimillion-dollar global organization serving clients like Subway, Pizza Hut, and QuikTrip.

Her mother’s management philosophy was built on principles of quality, learned directly from manufacturing guru W. Edwards Deming, and respect for people, influenced by Christian leader Stephen Covey.

Colleen McCarty emphasizes that these principles of quality systems, teamwork, and respect were the foundational values of her upbringing. They are also foundational in all her management and leadership roles.

Personal and Professional Path to Law

McCarty met her husband shortly after high school while working at a Goldie’s restaurant; he pursued her for a month before she agreed to a date.

In 2012, after the birth of her first child, McCarty launched “Bama University,” a training department for the company’s workforce. She trained team members on the third shift, many of whom were navigating difficult circumstances like drug court or homelessness. She observed that these individuals, having been humbled by life, were far more receptive to learning basic life and communication skills than some company executives.

“It’s not just about what you make,” McCarty said. “It’s about how you treat the people in your company and how you work together as a team. You must trust the people that you’re working with and you must respect them. That’s not just something that I learned later in life, that is the water that I swam in as a child.”

A significant turning point occurred in 2016 during a high-risk pregnancy with her son. A uterine tear forced her onto mentally and physically taxing bed rest for 17 weeks. During this time, she felt an undeniable “calling” to study law. She began studying for the LSAT and was accepted to the University of Tulsa School of Law.

Initially set on becoming a District Attorney (DA) to advocate for victims, she interned in the juvenile unit of the Tulsa DA’s office, where she witnessed how systemic failures can shape a child’s life in the criminal justice system. A subsequent internship at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, under the leadership of former U.S. Attorney Trent Shores, provided a vision of a well-run, mission-driven prosecutor’s office focused on public safety and justice. This experience provided McCarty a benchmark for what effective prosecution should look like.

Advocacy for Justice System Reform

During law school and after graduating and passing the Bar Exam, McCarty chose a path of policy and advocacy, which she knew might close the door to a traditional prosecutorial career.

She began working on commuting excessive sentences, where she met individuals serving disproportionate prison terms, such as a mother of two sentenced to 20 years for half a Tramadol pill and a veteran given a life sentence for being parked in a truck next to someone suspected of dealing marijuana.

“I met a man who got a life sentence because he was sitting in a truck next to someone who was suspected of dealing marijuana. A life sentence! I represented him in a commutation process, and he is now a free citizen, paying taxes, mentoring the youth, and keeping them out of gangs. He is a contributing citizen; he’s a veteran and an airplane mechanic. This [case] showed the scales of justice completely out of balance and power run amok. It is costing taxpayers millions and corrupting the spirit of our community,” McCarty declared.

This work led her to establish the Oklahoma Chapter of Appleseed, a public interest law center. Starting with only $150,000 in seed money and forgoing a salary for the first year, she grew the nonprofit to a $1.5 million organization over four years, an achievement she counts as one of her proudest.

Through Appleseed, McCarty worked on both collaborative and oppositional efforts with the Tulsa DA’s office. She and the incumbent were on the same side in a lawsuit against the state department of mental health, which resulted in a consent decree forcing the state to provide timely constitutional treatment to mentally ill individuals languishing in jails.

However, they clashed over the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act, a bill she championed for two years. The act creates a narrow path for sentence reduction for survivors who committed a crime against their abuser, provided the abuse was a “substantial contributing factor” (proximate cause) to the offense.

Despite passing the legislature with near-unanimous support and being signed by Governor Stitt, McCarty states that Kunzweiler has fought it “tooth and nail” in practice, and not even one of the cases brought in Tulsa County has resulted in a survivor’s release.

She notes the courts’ reluctance to set a precedent on what constitutes proximate cause under the new law but highlights success in another county where the Hon. C. Steven Kessinger granted relief to Lisa Moss, who had served 34 years of a life sentence. The Moss story was detailed in a story in The New York Times Magazine and Propublica on February 22nd, 2026. Click here for that story.

The Case Against the Incumbent DA’s Office

McCarty presents a damning indictment of the current DA’s office, which she characterizes as rife with corruption, misconduct, and a toxic culture. She asserts that a small chance of unseating an incumbent (who usually win by 90%) will not deter her from what she feels is a calling to restore justice. She cites several specific scandals as evidence for her claims:

• Fabricated Rape Allegation: An ADA, Ashley Thompson, who is now head of the murder team, allegedly fabricated a violent rape accusation to cover up an affair with her supervisor and avoid HR repercussions. Despite a SANE exam showing no injuries and DNA from three different men, she claimed a dislocated shoulder from the assault. The office prosecuted the man, Tim Hankins, who was ultimately acquitted after the ADA herself took the stand. Hankins is now suing the city for malicious prosecution and civil rights violations, with potential damages estimated between $20 and $30 million. McCarty states that the ADA was subsequently promoted.

• The Jeff Krigel Case: Attorney Jeff Krigel, who had publicly criticized the DA’s office, was prosecuted for rape by accusers who were insiders in the office, including an ADA. He was held in solitary confinement in the Tulsa County jail for four years before taking a plea deal that resulted in him serving 10-months in prison. Many believe Krigel was predatory and raped multiple victims. His treatment in jail, however, was no doubt due to his previously outspoken criticism. Update: The Krigel Case was originally prosecuted by the Wagoner County District Attorney’s Office and the conviction was obtained by the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office.

• Ethical Depravity: The same promoted ADA, Ashley Thompson, and her fiancé (another ADA) purchased the former home of a domestic violence and stalking victim whose resentencing case was being litigated at the time of the purchase. They held a Halloween-themed wedding there for the “creepy vibes,” with many DAs and judges in attendance.

• Unlicensed Interns: The DA allowed multiple unlicensed law school interns to conduct jury trials alone. All the cases were overturned, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court censured the interns. The speaker notes the DA blamed his top deputies (Tara Jack and Eric Grayless) and his contentious campaign against Ben Fu for the lack of oversight, an excuse the Supreme Court opinion reportedly mentioned.

McCarty argues these incidents demonstrate a profound leadership failure and have led to a “toxic workplace” that is “oozing great talent.” She bolsters her case with statistics, stating Tulsa County ranks 26th in the nation and 1^st in the state for wrongful convictions, with 50% of all exonerations stemming from government misconduct. Furthermore, she claims $47 million has been paid out in wrongful conviction verdicts in the last six months alone.

Colleen McCarty, Tulsa District Attorney Candidate

Policy Stances and Vision for the Future

McCarty answered aggressive audience questions from the First Friday Discussion Group in uptown Tulsa on her policy stances and plans for reform.

McCarty stressed that her goal is not to change laws but to properly execute them, arguing that the current administration fails to do so. She recounted changing her party affiliation to Republican in 2024 after feeling bullied by Democrats for exposing sexual abuse at the Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Home, noting that only Republicans at the Capitol were willing to address the issue.

On social issues, McCarty agreed with an audience member that fatherless homes are a root cause of crime and affirmed that family is the foundation of society. However, she declined to state an opinion on the superiority of any specific family structure, explaining that doing so could force her to recuse herself from future cases.

Regarding reform plans, McCarty outlined a “chemo” like approach to fixing the office’s toxic culture, starting with one-on-one meetings with all 150 employees to conduct a thorough cultural assessment. She acknowledged that some staff would self-select out and others would have to be let go. She also plans to address the high turnover rate, possibly through innovative partnerships with law firms. She criticized the incumbent for his sudden interest in a truancy court, an idea she claims he took from a 2024 report her organization published.

On other topics, McCarty stated:

• Homelessness & Mental Health: She does not believe poverty or homelessness are crimes but supports prosecuting individuals who commit crimes. She strongly advocates for re-examining long-term mental health care facilities, acknowledging the human rights concerns of the past but arguing the current reality of mentally ill individuals on the streets is also a failure harmful to individuals and the community.

• Medical Marijuana & Pornography: She believes legally operating medical marijuana dispensaries should be allowed, as they were approved by a vote of the people, but the law could be reversed by another popular vote. On pornography, she stated it is a “scourge” when it involves children but that she doesn’t “care what consenting adults do.”

The primary election for Tulsa County District Attorney will be held June 16, 2026. Click here for more from Colleen McCarty’s campaign web site.

About the author: David Arnett’s beginning in print journalism was not planned in 1985 but covered by Rebecca Martin writing for the Columbia Journalism Review in 1987. After 11 years in print, he established TulsaToday online in 1996 and Straight Up on Substack in 2022 providing email subscriptions to the latest local news and opinion.

Thank you for reading. Your comments are welcome below and/or by email.