Attorneys demand 25-year-old murder sentence be tossed out or granted new trial

(TULSA, Okla.) Nearly 25 years after being sent to prison for life, a domestic abuse survivor could finally have her chance at freedom. 

April Wilkens was convicted of murder after she shot and killed her rapist and abuser Terry Carlton in 1998.

After losing her direct appeal and multiple missteps from prior attorneys, Wilkens began representing herself in 2003. Both Post-Conviction Relief applications she filed were denied. 

Now Wilkens is being represented by Colleen McCarty and Leslie Briggs, two Oklahoma attorneys who launched the “Panic Button” podcast about her case earlier this year. 

The pair filed an application for Post-Conviction Relief for Wilkens at the Tulsa County Courthouse on Friday.

“In the process of researching the podcast, we discovered potentially exculpatory evidence we believe was suppressed in April's trial,” McCarty and Briggs said in a joint statement. “Suppressing exculpatory or impeachment evidence is a violation of a defendant's 6th amendment right to cross examine the witnesses against them, and their 5th and 14th Amendment rights to a fair trial under the due process clause of the United States Constitution.” 

Wilkens’ legal counsel also said new evidence in the field of domestic and intimate partner violence has come to light since April's conviction and that, when seen through the light of new research and practices, Wilkens’ behavior is legally explainable and defensible.

WATCH Two decades later, a woman sentenced to life for killing her abuser still fights for freedom

“We believe the suppressed evidence and the new science in the field of domestic and intimate partner violence legally demand April's sentence be vacated or a new trial be granted,” Wilkens’ attorneys said. “We look forward to seeing this matter resolved in court."

Wilkens has been up for parole four times but has been denied both parole hearings and parole recommendations. She will not be eligible for another parole hearing until 2025.