Domestic & Sexual Violence
Domestic abuse survivor who was inspiration for new reduced-sentencing law loses bid for release
A 55-year-old domestic abuse survivor convicted for the 1998 murder of her former fiance has lost her bid for freedom under a new law that she partly inspired. (Image from Shutterstock)
A 55-year-old domestic abuse survivor convicted for the 1998 murder of her former fiance has lost her bid for freedom under a new law that she partly inspired.
April Wilkens, who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, must serve the rest of her sentence, Judge David Guten of Tulsa County, Oklahoma, ruled Thursday.
Publications with coverage include the Oklahoman, Fox 23 News, KOCO, KFOR, KTUL and Public Radio Tulsa.
The Oklahoma Survivors’ Act, signed into law in May 2024, requires courts to consider evidence of abuse in sentencing mitigation hearings after conviction and in resentencing hearings after incarceration.
The law requires survivors such as Wilkens to prove by clear and convincing evidence that their abuse was related to their offense and a substantial contributing factor to the crime. She said she killed her former fiance, Terry Carlton, after being handcuffed and sexually assaulted, KOCO previously reported.
Wilkens’ attorney Colleen McCarty introduced evidence that her client killed Carlton because of a pattern of abuse that included beatings, rapes, financial extortion, psychological abuse and forced drug use. McCarty is the executive director of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.
But a prosecution witness, forensic psychologist Jarod Steffan, testified that the primary factors in the killing were mental illness and drug use.
Guten agreed with prosecutors. Although Wilkens was a domestic abuse survivor, her attorney had not shown that it was the reason for the crime, Guten said. He also rejected the testimony of an expert witness who testified for Wilkens, describing the witness as “an advocate, not an expert.”
McCarty told Public Radio Tulsa that she “will pursue every avenue of relief” for Wilkens, and, “We are not abandoning her now, just like we haven’t for the last three years.”
In a statement posted to Instagram, McCarty said: “Over two days of hearings, the court heard testimony from a sitting federal judge who represented Ms. Wilkens in a protective order against her abuser, from a former employee of the victim’s family who spoke about the abuser’s predatory conduct, and from one of Oklahoma’s foremost experts on coercive control and domestic violence. Despite this powerful evidence, the court chose not to credit testimony from the defense and instead relied entirely on the state’s expert.
“This ruling is a profound setback—not only for April but for the movement of survivors across Oklahoma who believed this law could provide a meaningful path to justice. … April’s case shows just how much work remains. We will not stop until survivors are truly seen, heard and given the chance for justice they deserve.”
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
