Oklahoma

Bill giving domestic abuse survivors sentencing relief advances in Oklahoma Senate

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2024

Bill giving domestic abuse survivors sentencing relief advances in Oklahoma Senate

If someone commits a crime, one basic goal of investigators and the court is to find out why — and learn what factors controlled the situation.

As of this week, Oklahoma is on a path to consider whether a person’s exposure to domestic abuse could be a mitigating factor that affects how the state punishes them for committing that crime.

Senate Bill 1470, which advanced unanimously in the Oklahoma Senate on Thursday, doesn’t directly influence whether someone can be charged or prosecuted. Instead, details of a domestic abuse survivor’s personal history can be used to reduce their sentence.

“We are stating a policy in Oklahoma that domestic violence, physical abuse and sexual violence is unacceptable. Our levels are disparagingly high, and we must address that,” said the bill’s author and Senate Pro Tempore Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City.

A similar bill passed through the House of Representatives last year but stalled late in session.

‘Oklahoma is in the midst of a domestic violence crisis’

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, about half of Oklahoma women experience domestic violence in their lifetime. The same study found that 41% of men are also survivors of abuse that can include physical violence, rape or stalking by an intimate partner.

“Oklahoma is in the midst of a domestic violence crisis, ranking first in the country in the perpetration of domestic violence and third in domestic homicides. At the same time, Oklahoma’s legal system is structured to punish survivors who defend themselves,” said Tara Tyler, executive director of Ponca City’s Survivor Resource Network. “The Oklahoma Survivors Act is a beacon of hope for domestic abuse survivors across the state.”

There are multiple cases of women in Oklahoma charged with murder, but who claim they killed an abuser because they feared for their life. April Wilkens is one of those women, currently serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.

More: Oklahoma remains among highest in nation in domestic violence homicides, report says

In an op-ed written for The Oklahoman last year, Wilkens said she shot her ex-fiancé after he handcuffed her, raped her and threatened to kill her.

“As he lunged toward me, I shot him with one of his own guns and could not stop firing until the gun was empty. He was shot eight times. Later that day, a sexual assault nurse documented my numerous injuries, including bruises all over my body and vaginal tears,” Wilkens wrote.

The prosecution claimed her injuries happened during consensual sex. Since starting her life sentence 24 years ago, she’s been denied parole four times and two commutation requests were refused.

The proposed law doesn’t apply to sentencing for sex crimes, elder neglect or child abuse. It also can’t be used by those who have received the death penalty.

Bill also could affect those currently in prison

Along with guiding courts on how to sentence people in newly prosecuted crimes, those who are already in prison will be able to petition the court to examine their sentence in this new light, people like Wilkens.

“It is incredibly important that we embrace trauma-informed sentencing,” said state Sen. Carri Hicks, D-Oklahoma City. “I think it is incredibly important that we continue to recognize that Oklahoma has the highest rate of domestic violence and domestic abuse, and that individuals who could currently be serving terms have been impacted by their abusers — and yet our criminal justice system is not giving them adequate support to overcome their traumatic pasts. I think that this is an incredible step forward.”

While trauma-informed sentencing has been discussed in justice reform circles for a long time, legislatures have been slow to enact these kinds of reforms. If Oklahoma’s bill becomes law, it would be only the second state in the nation behind New York, which enacted its own domestic violence survivor’s law in 2019.

“I think the universal support around this from everyone really shows that we can do reforms that make sense and that truly benefits the public and the interest of justice,” said Alexandra Bailey, senior campaign strategist for the The Sentencing Project, a national advocacy organization. “This should be a very proud moment for Oklahoma.”

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Oklahoma

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

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41 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.

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How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Published

13 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason.

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.

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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament.

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match.

For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task.

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.”

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line.

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books.

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title.

An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction.

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.”

A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December.

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way.

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.”

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over.

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.”

This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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