Steve Kunzweiler

Steve Kunzweiler was first elected in November 2014.{{Cite web |title=Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler |url=http://www.da.tulsacounty.org/}} 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."{{Cite news |title=State Lawmaker Is Eligible For District Attorney Job, Court Rules |work=KGOU |url=https://www.kgou.org/oklahoma-news/2014-07-25/state-lawmaker-is-eligible-for-district-attorney-job-court-rules}} 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."{{Cite news |title='I'm here to listen' Jenny Proehl-Day centers criminal justice reform in her run for district attorney |work=Tulsa People |url=https://www.tulsapeople.com/the-voice/writers/blayklee-freed/i-m-here-to-listen/article_c98e87bc-ac1d-5b44-96f5-cfd258a02d6c.html}} Kunnzweiler was elected for his second term.{{Cite news |title=Steve Kunzweiler elected to second term as Tulsa County DA |work=KRMG |url=https://www.krmg.com/news/local/tulsa-county-hopeful-election-bid/9mOO0zMzLIi2BfCsqnIOvI/}} He worked under the former DA, Tim Harris, the longest serving DA in Tulsa History.{{Cite news |last=Fisher |first=Rich |date=24 July 2018 |title=A Talk with Tim Harris (R), Who Is Running to Represent the 1st Congressional District of Oklahoma |work=Public Radio Tulsa |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/studiotulsa/2018-07-24/a-talk-with-tim-harris-r-who-is-running-to-represent-the-1st-congressional-district-of-oklahoma}} Harris did not seek reelection and announced his run in 2017 for U.S. Congress District 1.{{Cite news |date=24 April 2017 |title=Former Tulsa County D.A. Tim Harris Declares For U.S. Congress District 1 |work=News on 6 |url=https://www.newson6.com/story/5e35f9dd2f69d76f6202c6bf/former-tulsa-county-da-tim-harris-declares-for-us-congress-district-1}} In 2018, Kunzweiler was the prosecutor during the Bever family murders trial.{{Cite news |date=29 April 2018 |title=Bever Murder Trial To Continue Into Week Three |pages=News 9 |url=https://www.news9.com/story/5e35b4df777a5668671be243/bever-murder-trial-to-continue-into-week-three}} In 2016, "he filed felony first degree manslaughter charges against" Betty Shelby.{{Cite news |title=Tulsa Officer Charged With Shooting Terence Crutcher Surrenders, Released On Bond |work=KOSU |url=https://www.kosu.org/local-news/2016-09-23/tulsa-officer-charged-with-shooting-terence-crutcher-surrenders-released-on-bond}} 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."{{Cite news |title=Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler wins second term |work=Read Frontier |url=https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/tulsa-county-district-attorney-steve-kunzweiler-wins-second-term/}}

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."{{Cite news |title=District attorney declines charges against 'Black Lives Matter' protestors |work=KRGM |url=https://www.krmg.com/news/local/district-attorney-declines-charges-against-black-lives-matter-protestors/GJVCH6JYVVFCXLVJTAJRTBJD5I/}} 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."{{Cite news |date=12 January 2021 |title=D.A. STEVE KUNZWEILER WILL NOT CHARGE MAN WHO DROVE INTO BLM PROTESTERS |work=The Black Wall Street Times |url=https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2020/07/26/d-a-steve-kunzweiler-will-not-charge-man-who-drove-into-blm-protesters/}} He "stopped short of endorsing proposals for harsher penalties for protestors or blanket immunity for drivers."{{Cite news |date=22 February 2021 |title=Proposed Legislation Would Protect Oklahoma Drivers Who Hit Protestors |work=Public Radio Tulsa |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2021-02-22/proposed-legislation-would-protect-oklahoma-drivers-who-hit-protestors}} 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.{{Cite web |last=IMDB |title=The Long Road to Freedom |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12425772/}}{{Cite news |last=McDonnell |first=Brandy |date=18 June 2020 |title='Dateline NBC' special 'The Long Road to Freedom' to focus on wrongfully convicted Tulsa brothers |work=The Oklahoman |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/entertainment/columns/brandy-mcdonnell/2020/06/19/dateline-nbc-special-the-long-road-to-freedom-to-focus-on-wrongfully-convicted-tulsa-brothers/60395517007/}}{{Cite news |date=17 June 2020 |title=Dateline Episode Trailer: The Long Road to Freedom {{!}} Dateline NBC |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqMbyWVaXCk}}{{Cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Eli |date=16 July 2019 |title=Two brothers were wrongly convicted of separate murders. Now they are reunited as free men. |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/07/17/two-brothers-were-wrongfully-convicted-separate-murders-now-they-are-reunited-free-men/}}{{Cite news |date=24 September 2020 |title=Tulsa man sues state after wrongful murder conviction resulting in imprisonment for 28 years |work=Tulsa World |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tulsa-man-sues-state-after-wrongful-murder-conviction-resulting-in-imprisonment-for-28-years/article_5c6fb880-fdca-11ea-84ae-a366a334d29b.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024234252/https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tulsa-man-sues-state-after-wrongful-murder-conviction-resulting-in-imprisonment-for-28-years/article_5c6fb880-fdca-11ea-84ae-a366a334d29b.html |archive-date=24 October 2020 }}{{Cite news |title=Malcolm Scott, wrongfully convicted of murder, hopes to see shift in wake of George Floyd protests |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/malcolm-scott-wrongfully-convicted-murder-hopes-see-shift-wake-george-n1231605}}{{Cite news |date=17 June 2019 |title='I can't hold no grudge. Life's too short:' Corey Atchison found actually innocent after 1991 murder conviction |work=Tulsa World |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/i-cant-hold-no-grudge-lifes-too-short-corey-atchison-found-actually-innocent-after-1991/article_f618943c-270d-5aa4-8882-f8a60a643c29.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231191958/https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/i-cant-hold-no-grudge-lifes-too-short-corey-atchison-found-actually-innocent-after-1991/article_f618943c-270d-5aa4-8882-f8a60a643c29.html |archive-date=31 December 2021 }}{{Cite news |date=19 June 2019 |title=Dateline NBC episode on Friday features two Tulsa brothers wrongfully convicted for murders |work=Tulsa World |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/dateline-nbc-episode-on-friday-features-two-tulsa-brothers-wrongfully-convicted-for-murders/article_f04fd5b1-d2e4-561b-a739-3de7146b9654.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231191959/https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/dateline-nbc-episode-on-friday-features-two-tulsa-brothers-wrongfully-convicted-for-murders/article_f04fd5b1-d2e4-561b-a739-3de7146b9654.html |archive-date=31 December 2021 }}{{Cite news |date=17 June 2020 |title=DATELINE NBC TO AIR FRIDAY SPECIAL ON DECADES-LONG FIGHT BY TWO BROTHERS TO OVERTURN THEIR WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA |url=https://press.nbcnews.com/2020/06/17/dateline-nbc-to-air-friday-special-on-decades-long-fight-by-two-brothers-to-overturn-their-wrongful-convictions-in-tulsa-oklahoma0/}}{{Cite news |date=19 June 2020 |title=Two brothers fight to prove their innocence on tonight's 'Dateline NBC: The Long Road to Freedom' |work=KARD |url=https://www.myarklamiss.com/entertainment-news/two-brothers-fight-to-prove-their-innocence-on-tonights-dateline-nbc-the-long-road-to-freedom/}} 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." Judge Sharon Holmes overturned Atchison's sentence.{{Cite news |title=Corey Atchison's attorney issues statement in response to Tim Harris, Steve Kunzweiler comments |work=2 News Oklahoma |url=https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/corey-atchisons-attorney-issues-statement-in-response-to-tim-harris-steve-kunzweiler-comments}}

In 2021, Kunzweiler said that the ruling on McGirt "isn't just a criminal matter but can also affect businesses."{{Cite news |date=31 March 2021 |title=Tulsa County DA holds town hall to discuss concerns related to McGirt ruling |work=2 News Oklahoma |url=https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/tulsa-county-da-holds-town-hall-to-discuss-concerns-related-to-mcgirt-ruling}} 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.{{Cite news |title=Tulsa County assistant prosecutor censured after interns found practicing law; justices place blame with DA, first assistant |work=Tulsa World |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tulsa-county-assistant-prosecutor-censured-after-interns-found-practicing-law-justices-place-blame-with-da/article_7f85d4ac-5bae-11eb-a022-bfc675a2e093.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122210028/https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/tulsa-county-assistant-prosecutor-censured-after-interns-found-practicing-law-justices-place-blame-with-da/article_7f85d4ac-5bae-11eb-a022-bfc675a2e093.html |archive-date=22 January 2021 }}

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.{{Cite news |title=DAs and local lawmakers discuss ways to work together |work=2 News Oklahoma |url=https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/das-and-local-lawmakers-discuss-ways-to-work-together?fbclid=IwAR3NGH4uEocHeLwa2ZZd9gKwjs233_nMyIP7122OItYF3ZxG-94zE9qHJ-w}} 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.{{Cite news |date=5 December 2021 |title=Stitt expresses confidence in Pardon and Parole Board |work=Tulsa World |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/stitt-expresses-confidence-in-pardon-and-parole-board/article_a4bba9e0-52de-11ec-b0d6-efa4acfddac7.html}} Dark money conservative attack ads targeting Stitt as not tough enough on crime started airing in 2021.{{Cite news |date=2 December 2021 |title=Dark money group targets Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt with Fox News attack ads |work=Tulsa World |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/dark-money-group-targets-oklahoma-gov-kevin-stitt-with-fox-news-attack-ads/article_6f5a7810-5371-11ec-a476-f3808fe4da13.html}} The state of Oklahoma has the third highest incarceration rate in 2021 and its 2018 numbers show it incarcerates the most women per capita.{{Cite news |title=States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021 |work=Prison Policy |url=https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.html}}{{Cite web |last=Kajstura |first=Aleks |title=States of Women's Incarceration: The Global Context 2018 |url=https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/women/2018.html}}

In 2024, he was invited by Kevin Hern as his guest to attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-08 |title=Tulsa County DA Steve Kunzweiler attends State of the Union |url=https://www.krmg.com/news/local/tulsa-county-da-steve-kunzweiler-attend-state-union/PEKSVAYWEBG4LGSXTGBEIUTNHQ/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=102.3 KRMG |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-03-07 |title=Hern to bring Tulsa County DA as guest to the State of the Union |url=https://hern.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=897 |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=U.S. Representative Kevin Hern |language=en}} He was invited because of his correlation to fentanyl overdoses, blaming immigration happening through the U.S. and Mexico border.{{Cite web |last=Dobberstein |first=John |date=2024-03-07 |title=Hern's guest at Biden's SOTU will be Tulsa County DA |url=https://basentinel.com/herns-guest-at-bidens-sotu-will-be-tulsa-county-da/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Broken Arrow Sentinel |language=en-US}}

Kunzweiler has supported the cross-deputization of police officers with tribal police to avoid confusion about who has jurisdiction.{{Cite web |title=ICYMI: Cross-deputization means nontribal police can arrest Native suspects - The Muscogee Nation :The Muscogee Nation |url=https://www.muscogeenation.com/2024/03/15/icymi-cross-deputization-means-nontribal-police-can-arrest-native-suspects/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=www.muscogeenation.com |language=en-US}}

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."{{Cite news |last=Caldwell |first=Elizabeth |date=25 June 2022 |title='Today is the day we pay attention': attorney urges local action after fall of Roe v. Wade |work=Public Radio Tulsa |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2022-06-25/today-is-the-day-we-pay-attention-attorney-urges-local-action-after-fall-of-roe-v-wade}} 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.'"{{Cite news |last=MICHAELS |first=SAMANTHA |date=2022 |title=MICHAELS |work=Mother Jones |url=https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2022/08/failure-to-protect-domestic-abuse-child-oklahoma-women-inequality-prison/}} He has explained female incarceration "using a metaphor about spanking."{{Cite news |last=Stillman |first=Sarah |date=29 October 2018 |title=America's Other Family-Separation Crisis |work=New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/11/05/americas-other-family-separation-crisis}}

In 2022, Kunzweiler's office wrote a protest letter against criminalized survivor April Wilkens's application for parole.{{Cite news |date=22 March 2022 |title=#AprilsStory The Lone Crusaders |url=https://app.verifiednews.network/articles/share/2261 |work=VNN}} It is speculated that the board did not grant her a hearing this period at least in part due to the protest letter.{{Cite news |title=#AprilsStory The Lone Crusaders - VNN |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY2RNxlXsLA |work=YouTube}} 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.{{Cite news |date=21 June 2006 |title=DA's Race Among Most Monied |url=https://tulsaworld.com/archive/das-race-among-most-moneyed/article_f004c170-7058-5034-b230-722e8ba36f39.html |work=Tulsa World}}{{Cite web |title=FAMILY & PERSONAL |url=http://www.stevek4da.com/read-me}} 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.{{Cite news |title=Oklahoma Pardon & Parole Board Votes To Recommends Parole For 'Crossbow Killer' |url=https://www.newson6.com/story/6228bf5bd689eb07231f4c30/oklahoma-pardon--parole-board-votes-to-recommends-parole-for-crossbow-killer |work=News On 6}} 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.{{Cite news |date=2022 |title=Gov. Stitt reverses course, denies parole for crossbow killer |url=https://kfor.com/news/local/gov-stitt-reverses-course-denies-parole-for-crossbow-killer/ |work=KFOR}} Stitt reversed his decision after accusations of racism for not also releasing Julius Jones.{{Cite news |date=2022 |title=GOVERNOR STITT REVERSES RELEASE OF KILLER EX-COP AS JULIUS JONES SITS IN PRISON |url=https://theblackwallsttimes.com/2022/04/27/governor-stitt-allows-release-of-killer-ex-cop-as-julius-jones-sits-in-prison/ |work=The Black Wall Street Times}} Three weeks after the Oklahoma Survivor's Act was passed in 2024, legislation introduced by Greg Treat and Jon Echols that would resentence criminalized survivors like April Wilkens,{{Cite web |last=Barajas |first=Michael |last2=Law |first2=Victoria |date=2024-05-24 |title=Oklahoma Gives Incarcerated Survivors of Domestic Violence a New Chance at Freedom |url=https://boltsmag.org/oklahoma-survivors-act/ |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=Bolts |language=en}} Kunzweiler's office came under scrutiny for creating a waiver that would get abuse victims to waive away their rights under the new law, to the outcry of domestic violence advocates, including the CEO of the YWCA in Oklahoma City.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-18 |title=Oklahoma Prosecutors Consider Plan That Would 'Prey' On Domestic Violence Survivors |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tulsa-county-district-attorney-oklahoma-survivors-act_n_66eb2640e4b00648275ba784 |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=World |first=Curtis Killman Tulsa |date=2024-09-20 |title=Tulsa DA Kunzweiler defends plan for handling Oklahoma Survivors' Act cases |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/article_3ad5cfde-7792-11ef-ae94-4f27d61969e9.html |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=Tulsa World |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-09-22 |title=Kunzweiler clarifies Survivors' Act views after legal form surfaces |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2024-09-22/kunzweiler-clarifies-survivors-act-views-after-legal-form-surfaces |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=Public Radio Tulsa |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Brenna |date=2024-09-17 |title=Advocates denounce Tulsa County DA plea policy as harmful to domestic abuse survivors |url=https://ktul.com/news/local/tulsa-county-da |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=KTUL |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=FJP Statement on Tulsa DA's Attempts to Circumvent the Oklahoma Survivors' Act |url=https://fairandjustprosecution.org/press-releases/fjp-statement-on-tulsa-das-attempts-to-circumvent-the-oklahoma-survivors-act/ |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=Fair and Just Prosecution |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Coalition |first=OK Survivor Justice |title=OK Survivor Justice Coalition |url=https://oksurvivorjusticecoalition.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319093615/https://oksurvivorjusticecoalition.org/ |archive-date=March 19, 2025 |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=OK Survivor Justice Coalition |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Hoberock |first=Barbara |date=2024-09-18 |title=Oklahoma prosecutor accused of undermining abuse victims charged with crimes • Oklahoma Voice |url=https://oklahomavoice.com/2024/09/18/oklahoma-prosecutor-accused-of-undermining-abuse-victims-charged-with-crimes/ |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=Oklahoma Voice |language=en-US}}They accused him of "forcing domestic violence victims charged with crimes to give up their rights if they want plea agreements."{{Cite web |last=Hoberock |first=Barbara |title=Oklahoma prosecutor accused of undermining abuse victims charged with crimes |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/09/19/tulsa-county-stephen-kunzweiler-accused-undermining-abuse-victims-oklahoma-survivors-act/75291289007/ |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}} Kunzweiler defended the form, saying that similar forms are used in other types of cases.{{Cite web |last=Media |first=Griffin |title=District Attorney Kunzweiler Responds To Claims That He Is Strong-Arming Victims To Give Up Rights Under New Law |url=https://www.newson6.com/story/66f1ed65cb18a8df8ef25cb2/district-attorney-kunzweiler-responds-to-claims-that-he-is-strong-arming-victims-to-give-up-rights-under-new-law |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=www.newson6.com |language=en}}

In 2025, April Wilkens's attorneys accused Kunzweiler of dragging out the process to get her a resentencing hearing under the Oklahoma Survivors Act (OSA).{{Cite news |date=7 April 2025 |title=Attorneys accuse Tulsa DA of dragging out Wilkens resentencing case |url=https://kfor.com/video/attorneys-accuse-tulsa-da-of-dragging-out-wilkens-resentencing-case/10608563/}} Advocates questioned why Wilkens still had no hearing date set.{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=John |title=First applicant for Oklahoma Survivors' Act relief still waiting for hearing |url=https://kfor.com/news/local/first-applicant-for-oklahoma-survivors-act-relief-still-waiting-for-hearing/}}{{Cite news |date=2025 |title=This Oklahoma law aims to ease sentencing for convicted abuse survivors. Is it working? |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/politics/courts/2025/02/06/oklahoma-survivors-act-helps-victims-domestic-abuse-convicted-defense/77746943007/ |work=The Oklahoman}} She filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus, where Wilkens's "defense team calls her incarceration 'unlawful;' an 'unreasonable over-detention' and a 'violation of Wilkens' Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.'"{{Cite news |date=2025-04-07 |title=April Wilkens' lawyers request release, call her incarceration "unlawful" |url=https://kfor.com/news/local/april-wilkens-lawyers-request-release-call-her-incarceration-unlawful |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250410062139/https://kfor.com/news/local/april-wilkens-lawyers-request-release-call-her-incarceration-unlawful/ |archive-date=2025-04-10 |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=KFOR.com Oklahoma City |language=en-US}} Though Wilkens was the first to apply for resentencing, she was not the first granted a hearing or released.{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Brenna |date=2025-04-07 |title=Judge grants habeas hearing for Oklahoma woman 'serving an illegal sentence', lawyers say |url=https://ktul.com/news/local/judge-grants-habeas-hearing-for-oklahoma-woman-serving-an-illegal-sentence-lawyers-say-oklahoma-survivors-act-tulsa-county-district-attorney-sentencing-hearing-1998-murder-ex-fiance-retroactive-sentencing-relief-evidence |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=KTUL |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Brenna |date=2025-02-27 |title=Oklahoma Survivors' Act leads to first resentencing as Lisa Rae Moss regains freedom |url=https://ktul.com/news/local/oklahoma-survivors-act-leads-to-first-resentencing-as-lisa-rae-moss-regains-freedom-domestic-violence-victim-husband-death-abuse-brother-oklahoma-center-law-justice-oklahoma-district-attorneys-council-governor-kevin-stitt-survivor-justice-coalition |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=KTUL |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Kilee |date=2025-01-09 |title=She spent 34 years in prison after killing her abuser. A new Oklahoma law helped free her |url=https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-lisa-moss-survivors-act-retrial-domestic-abuse/63374997 |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=KOCO |language=en}}The judge, Clifford Smith, granted the Habeas hearing for Wilkens.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-07 |title=Judge grants habeas corpus hearing for OK woman, lawyers allege incarceration "unlawful" under OK Survivors' Act |url=https://www.fox23.com/news/judge-grants-habeas-corpus-hearing-for-ok-woman-lawyers-allege-incarceration-unlawful-under-ok-survivors/article_fd8bf606-ca72-45f7-b731-bb38712a58d9.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawJ5ybhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFRNE5iSlI4NjFBelRWemNNAR7jAEuTd5N6q3cT-SJzYvPY1v7lJqCE0P5hy6REHbQnPEaNeEAMfroqZ4Rh-A_aem_YyGiiZLdaWFtuxrdra2Fgw |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=www.fox23.com |language=en}} The hearing will be about her supervised release until she is granted an OSA resentencing hearing date.{{Cite web |title=Lawyers argue survivor's incarceration is "unlawful" following passage of Oklahoma Survivors' Act |url=https://app.verifiednews.network/articles/share/3903 |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Verified News Network}} In response to Judge Smith granting the Habeas hearing, Kunzweiler released a statement to media, claiming Terry Carlton had also taken out protective orders against Wilkens, though Channel 8 KTUL could find no evidence that had happened.{{Cite web |last=Rose |first=Brenna |date=2025-04-07 |title=Judge grants habeas hearing for Oklahoma woman 'serving an illegal sentence', lawyers say |url=https://ktul.com/news/local/judge-grants-habeas-hearing-for-oklahoma-woman-serving-an-illegal-sentence-lawyers-say-oklahoma-survivors-act-tulsa-county-district-attorney-sentencing-hearing-1998-murder-ex-fiance-retroactive-sentencing-relief-evidence |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=KTUL |language=en}}

Also in early 2022, Kunzweiler's daughter stabbed him. Before her hearing, he called for greater mental healthcare reforms in the state.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-27 |title=Tulsa County district attorney's daughter found not guilty of stabbing father |url=https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/tulsa-county-district-attorneys-daughter-found-not-guilty-of-stabbing-father |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa |language=en}} 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."{{Cite web |date=2023-01-27 |title=Lawyer: Status of father had little to do with not guilty verdict for DA's daughter in stabbing case |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2023-01-27/lawyer-status-of-father-had-little-to-do-with-not-guilty-verdict-for-das-daughter-in-stabbing-case |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=Public Radio Tulsa |language=en}}

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."{{Cite web |title=President Biden on Nex Benedict's death: 'No one should face the bullying that Nex did' |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2024/03/14/joe-biden-statement-nex-benedict-death-owasso-ok/72975096007/ |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}} 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."{{Cite web|title=No charges to be filed in fight involving Oklahoma nonbinary teen Nex Benedict|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/no-charges-to-be-filed-in-fight-involving-oklahoma-nonbinary-teen-nex-benedict |access-date=2024-03-22 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-US}}

Henry Jamerson, a man sentenced to 34 years who only served 24 and was later exonerated,{{Cite news |last=Goforth |first=Dylan |date=July 9, 2024 |title=Tulsa judge tosses rape conviction after man's three-decade quest to prove his innocence |url=https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/tulsa-judge-tosses-rape-conviction-after-mans-three-decade-quest-to-prove-his-innocence/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |work=The Frontier |language=en-US}} accused the Tulsa Police and the District Attorneys office of a decades-long coverup scheme in a 2025 lawsuit.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-18 |title=Man who served 24-year sentence on wrongful conviction sues city, DA |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2025-04-18/man-who-served-24-year-sentence-on-wrongful-conviction-sues-city-da |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Public Radio Tulsa |language=en}} Kunzweiler is appealing Jamerson's overturned conviction,{{Cite web |date=2025-04-15 |title=Wrongful conviction lawsuit claims TPD, DA in decades-long coverup scheme |url=https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/wrongful-conviction-lawsuit-claims-tpd-da-in-decades-long-coverup-scheme |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa |language=en}} even though the woman who accused Jamerson of rape recanted, saying that "police decades ago convinced her to identify Jamerson as her rapist even though she'd never seen him before." She now "formally supported the legal move to get Jamerson off the Oklahoma sex offender registry."{{Cite web |date=2024-11-13 |title=Fight 'to the end': Woman instrumental in wrongful conviction of Tulsa man advocates for him in court |url=https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/2024-11-13/fight-to-the-end-woman-instrumental-in-wrongful-conviction-of-tulsa-man-advocates-for-him-in-court |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=Public Radio Tulsa |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |author=Sunny Leigh |date=2023-04-14 |title=Bill to reduce penalties for animal fighting shut down in Oklahoma Senate |url=https://ktul.com/news/local/bill-to-reduce-penalties-for-animal-fighting-shut-down-in-oklahoma-senate-cockfighting-chicken-fighting-dogfighting-humphrey-kunzweiler-humane-society-animal-wellness-gamefowl-lawmakers |access-date=2023-04-16 |website=KTUL |language=en}} Mike Osburn co-authored House Bill 1792 with Dave Rader{{Cite web |title=Bill Information |url=http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=hb1792&Session=2300 |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=www.oklegislature.gov}} that would lessen the penalties of also dogfighting in the state of Oklahoma, which sparked pushback from animal rights advocates.{{Cite web |author=Mckenzie Richmond |date=2023-04-12 |title=An Oklahoma bill could dramatically reduce punishment for dog fighting |url=https://ktul.com/news/local/an-oklahoma-bill-could-dramatically-reduce-punishment-for-dog-fighting |access-date=2023-04-13 |website=KTUL |language=en}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Pacelle |first=Wayne |date=2023-04-13 |title=Pro-Cockfighting Bills Fail in Oklahoma Legislature |url=https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/627830164/pro-cockfighting-bills-fail-in-oklahoma-legislature |access-date=2023-04-14 |work=EIN News |language=en-US}}

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.{{Cite web |title=Bill Information |url=http://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=hb3694&Session=2400 |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=www.oklegislature.gov}} 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.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-12 |title=Bill on penalizing larceny would undo 2016 state question |url=https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/bill-on-penalizing-larceny-would-undo-2016-state-question |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=2 News Oklahoma KJRH Tulsa |language=en}} 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."{{Cite web |last=McCarty |first=Colleen |date=2024-03-07 |title=Opinion: Keeping track of good and bad criminal justice bills proposed by Oklahoma lawmakers |url=https://tulsaworld.com/opinion/column/opinion-keeping-track-of-good-and-bad-criminal-justice-bills-proposed-by-oklahoma-lawmakers/article_3fc6837c-db56-11ee-8aeb-83b6cb360ed8.html |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Tulsa World |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web |title=Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler stabbed; daughter arrested |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/tulsa-county-district-attorney-steve-kunzweiler-stabbed-daughter-arrested/ar-AA12jYFU |date=2022-09-28 |first=Jana |last=Hayes |website=MSN |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Panic Button: The April Wilkens Case |date=2022 |title=The True Experts |url=https://panicbuttontheaprilwilkenscase.podbean.com/e/the-true-experts-11/}}

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