American Indian group upset over SC court’s order

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — An American Indian group is expressing disappointment in a South Carolina court’s decision to return a girl to the Charleston-area couple seeking to adopt her.

The National Congress of American Indians said Thursday that removing the now-3-year-old girl from her home in Oklahoma would be traumatic.

With the backing of the U.S. Supreme Court, the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that a Family Court finalize the girl’s adoption by Matt and Melanie Capobianco.

The girl named Veronica has been living in Oklahoma since 2011 when South Carolina justices originally said a federal law favored her being raised by her biological father, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation.

Through his attorney, Dusten Brown says he is devastated by the court’s decision.