Oklahoma
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.”
NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — A new program in Oklahoma is giving adults another way to finish high school by allowing them to use past credits and test scores to earn a diploma, an option officials say could help thousands of people and strengthen the state’s workforce.
For years, adults in Oklahoma who did not finish high school largely had one main option: earning a GED. Now, Oklahoma CareerTech is rolling out the Career Readiness Diploma, a pathway designed to build on what students have already completed rather than requiring them to start over.
“So in Oklahoma right now, if you look at the demographics, we have about 279,000 people in our state without a high school diploma. So it’s almost 10% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma,” said Lance Allee, an adult education and family literacy specialist with Oklahoma CareerTech.
Allee said the program allows adults to apply previously earned high school credit and combine different assessment scores into a single record to qualify for a diploma.
“It allows the student to use previously earned high school credit. So, it’s kind of like a portfolio where you can take multiple assessment scores and put them into one portfolio to get your high school diploma,” Allee said.
The program is open to adults 21 and older. In some cases, officials said, participants can finish in just weeks, depending on how many credits they already have.
CareerTech officials say the program is also aimed at improving job prospects for individuals while helping Oklahoma remain competitive when attracting employers.
“When you’re a company and you’re looking at moving into Oklahoma, you look at the demographics and say, is there a workforce there that we can employ? And you say, well, about 10% of the population doesn’t have a diploma, they may start looking at states that surround us. So, we definitely want to get as many diplomas out there as we can,” Allee said.
The program started issuing diplomas in recent weeks, and officials said dozens more people are already in the process. For more information or to sign up click here.
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