The Oklahoma Thirteen: Domestic Violence Survivors Have a Chance at Justice in Oklahoma
Appeal filings to begin for domestic violence survivors in Oklahoma.
Related to: Sentencing Reform, State Advocacy
Tulsa, Oklahoma – On Thursday, August 29th, 2024 at 11AM local time, attorneys will travel to the Tulsa County Courthouse to file an appeal for currently incarcerated domestic violence survivor April Wilkens. This filing will kick off a series of appeals for thirteen survivors of domestic violence in Oklahoma known as The Oklahoma Thirteen.
We encourage members of the press to attend the filing and to speak with April’s attorneys and other directly-impacted advocates about this appeal.
Over the coming months, this group of survivors will go before a court to have their cases heard and their prison sentences potentially reduced.
These individuals have a shot at justice because earlier this year, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed into law the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act (Senate Bill 1835). This legislation, championed by Representative Echols and Senator Treat, will direct the courts to reduce a criminal defendant’s sentence if they can prove domestic abuse played a significant factor in their offense.
This includes women like April Wilkens. In 1998, her ex-fiancé handcuffed and threatened to kill her after years of physical, mental and sexual abuse. As he lunged toward her, April used one of his guns and killed him in self-defense. She is in her 26th year of incarceration at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center in Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma Thirteen also includes women like Denise Groff, who was in an incredibly abusive relationship with Linn Rodgers for five years. In that time, he forced her to watch child pornography and to have sex with farm animals. A forensic review of Rodgers’ computer revealed thousands of searches for child pornography. She received a life sentence when her lover ultimately shot Rodgers in his garage. Groff did not pull the trigger.
The Oklahoma Survivors Act was a tremendous victory for domestic violence survivors – now, the process for bringing them home begins.
On-Site Contact:
Colleen McCarty, Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Colleen@OKAppleseed.org, (918) 902-7798
Leslie Briggs, Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Leslie@OKAppleseed.org, (918) 850-8792
WHERE
Tulsa County Courthouse
500 South Denver, Tulsa OK 74103
WHEN
Thursday, August 29th, 2024
11AM Local Time
