Domestic Violence
HB 1639 is off to the senate! This is a tremendous win for all who have personally dealt with domestic violence or have been a witness to it. I truly believe this is a positive step in the right direction for the state of Oklahoma. We are beginning to shed light on this being a systemic issue. There is just one more detail that we can’t leave behind for HB 1639 to pass. Retroactivity must be added to HB 1639. We Can’t Leave Them Behind.
Retroactivity will allow people who are incarcerated a chance to get their prison sentences shortened if they can prove that they were victims of domestic abuse at the time of the crime. Oklahoma Appleseed’s research estimates that there are between 150 and 500 survivors in Oklahoma prisons who can prove their victimization led to their prosecution. Letting them be released on lower sentences would save $3.9 million and $13 million per year to the state budget.
Calls to Action:
For HB 1639 to move forward it is important that the bill is placed on a senate committee. Contact OK Senator Brent Howard to place HB 1639 on the judiciary agenda (405)-521-5612.
The OK Survivor Justice Coalition has gotten our hands on a new action tool to write emails to the Oklahoma legislature. We are needing collective effort to put retroactivity back on HB 1639. Please use the following link to send an email/and or call your Oklahoma senator, script included! https://ujoin.co/campaigns/2221/actions/public?action_id=2389
Important Dates:
April 13th – Senate Committee Deadline (we need to be out of senate committee to continue advancing by this day)
April 25th – Domestic Abuse Advocacy Day at the Oklahoma Capitol hosted by OK Appleseed, we will be in the Supreme Court Hallway from 9a-3p. RSVP Here
April 27th – Senate Floor Deadline (we need to be voted off the Senate floor by the end of the day on the 27th to return to the house for final passage).
You are needed: Survivor Justice Day at the Oklahoma Capitol
Another Oklahoma criminalized survivor story:
Free Film Screening about Oklahoma’s female incarceration: ‘Women in Prison: America’s Forgotten Voices’
Film Screening and Panel Discussion on Women’s Incarceration in OklahomaIncarceration rates for women have increased 800% across the nation. In #Oklahoma alone, the number of women locked away in prisons has increased more than 17-fold, from 176 in 1978 to 3,114 in 2017. We continue to lead the nation in female incarceration, only second to Idaho, and this devastating phenomenon has caught the attention of the world.
Join us in a private screening of the film Women in Prison: America’s Forgotten Voices by French film studio StudioFact Rights documenting the mass incarceration of women in Oklahoma.Afterwards we will be joined by Kris Steele, the Executive Director of TEEM, Colleen McCarty, the Executive Director of Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and Tondalao Hall, an advocate for reform and formerly incarcerated individual.
The program Poetic Justice is showcased in this documentary. April Wilkens was a part of that program last year, but is not featured. Colleen McCarty of Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is on the panel. McCarty is the co-host of the Panic Button podcast, whose first season told the ongoing story of April Wilkens.
Another NewsChannel 8 story that mentions April Wilkens:
Criminalized Survivors in Oklahoma
NEW: Post Conviction Relief filed on behalf of April Wilkens
A message from April Wilkens sent on 9/19/22
Monday morning
Hi there. Late last week, I received the latest podcast transcripts you sent along with the interim study info and TPR article. Thanks!
Read the transcripts. I had no idea that the audiotape recording of Terry was actually ruled inadmissible at my trial after the prosecution filed a motion to keep it out, and this was done when the court reporter was not there so there. I’ve thought all this time that my attorney failed to discover it from Claire Eagan and that Tim Harris likely had it bc (I gave it to police) but just withheld that evidence. I’m flabbergasted!
I’m also a word nerd…
Manipulating the Truth
“Manipulate, in my opinion, means to behave or act in a certain way so as to influence the outcome to benefit or achieve your – your agenda.” (nothing about “manipulate” involving wily or fraudulent means or motives)
“[Truth] can change based on your perception.”
“And so that could be HER truth.” – IPV Expert at approx. 18:42 of Episode 11: The True Experts (emphasis added)
“We’re going to speak MY truth on the stand.” – IPV Expert at approx. 30:04 of Episode 11: The True Experts (emphasis added)
From Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary:
TRUTH
2a(1): the state of being the case: fact
2a(3): often cap: a transcendental fundamental or spiritual reality
2b: a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true OR ACCEPTED AS TRUE (emphasis added)PERCEPTION
1a: result of perceiving: observationPERCEIVE:
1a: obtain awareness or understanding of
1b: to regard as being such
2: to become aware of through the senses, especially: see, observeMANIPULATE
1: To treat or operate with or as if with the hands or by mechanical means especially in a skillful manner
2a: To manage or utilize skillfully
2b: To control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means especially to one’s own advantageAGENDA
1: A list or outline of things to be considered or done
2: An underlying often ideological plan or programHave a great day! 🙂
Free April Wilkens Blog 