District 20 

The Oklahoman reported in November of 1998:  The state won't pay Ardmore District Attorney Gary Henry's $200,000 legal bill for his defense in a sexual harassment lawsuit, state Attorney General Drew Edmondson said Friday.  And if Henry's lawyers successfully sue the state for their fee, the state may sue Henry to recoup the loss, Edmondson said.  The attorney general said Henry didn't submit a contract to his office with an estimate of legal costs - a requirement under state law.  "The idea that there's no set procedure is poppycock," Edmondson said. "There it is. He didn't follow it."  Read more...

The Oklahoman reported on March 11, 1999: In their report, grand jurors wrote that while in office from 1995 until this year, Henry "consistently used bad judgment and handled office finances inappropriately." But, "we did not find that his actions were illegal since we could not find a statute covering such gross neglect of duties."  

Grand jurors looked at $5.8 million in office expenditures from 10 accounts.  Henry's financial problems obviously affected him in the minds of voters. [Mitch] Sperry defeated Henry in August by a 3-to-1 margin.

Other findings by the grand jury are that Henry:

- Often shuffled money among accounts, in apparent violation of state law, but that the funds were used for the office.

- Was emotionally unqualified and unable to withstand the strains of the office.  Read more...

James Worrell alleges a violation of his First Amendment rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983 by defendants Gary Henry, William Floyd "Dub" Turner, Elaine Dodd, and Malcom Atwood.  Mr. Worrell maintained that Mr. Henry's withdrawal of an offer of employment to serve as the coordinator of a drug task force constituted retaliation for activity protected by the First Amendment by offering truthful testimony in the murder trial.  Read more...