Robert H. Macy

Robert H. Macy (July 5, 1930 – November 18, 2011) was a Democratic District Attorney from 1980 until 2001 for Oklahoma County and the State's capital, Oklahoma City. He was nationally known for his impassioned performances in capital murder trials, sometimes followed by reversals on appeal, and in three cases, exonerations. Macy moved to Ada, Oklahoma and began his legal career as Assistant County Attorney for Pontotoc County. He earned a master's degree in Public Administration from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis in 1977.

One of the "Deadliest" District Attorneys Governor George Nigh appointed Macy to fill the unexpired term of his predecessor, Andy Coats, who resigned the district attorney's office to run for the U.S. Senate. Macy took the oath of office as District Attorney on June 16, 1980. In 2001, Macy defended the death penalty, saying Macy was once dragged from a courtroom after he became angry when a jury acquitted six defendants for shooting at law enforcement officers.

Macy is perhaps best known as the District Attorney who pursued the death penalty for Julius Jones in 1999. Background information and archive footage of Macy was featured in the 2018 documentary series The Last Defense.

Corruption Robert H. Macy is accused of conspiring with Joyce Gilchrist to commit forensic misconduct and fraud on multiple death penalty cases. Gilchrist's testimony was needed for 23 of Macy's death row convictions, many of which turned out to be false testimony and/or altered lab notes. David Autry, an Oklahoma County public defender who worked the courthouses while Macy was a District Attorney, said, "Macy would pretty much do whatever it took to win. He would routinely withhold exculpatory evidence, he engaged in prosecutorial misconduct routinely during trials and especially during closing argument. And even when the appellate court would slap him down, he would just continue on the same course.” The 2002 U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is quoted as saying “Macy’s persistent misconduct has without doubt harmed the reputation of Oklahoma’s criminal justice system and left the unenviable legacy of an indelibly tarnished legal career.”