Bill filed to help criminalized survivors of domestic violence in Oklahoma
Trigger Warning: This story discusses domestic violence and other related abuse, which may be distressing and triggering for some individuals. Please proceed with caution and prioritize your mental and emotional well-being. If you need support, consider speaking to a mental health professional by calling 988, texting the Crisis Text Line at 741741, or reaching out to a trusted person in your life.
(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) Senate Bill 1470, also known as The Oklahoma Survivor’s Act, is set to receive its first reading on February 5. The bill, introduced by Oklahoma Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat (R-Oklahoma City), would permit courts to consider the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse domestic violence survivors have experienced when sentencing for crimes they committed relating to their abuse.
If provided with evidence that their abuse happened within one year of the offense, courts would be able to issue reduced sentences, unless their crime required them to register as a sex offender.
The bill would also have a retroactive component, allowing currently incarcerated domestic violence survivors to appeal for a lesser sentence if they meet the requirements.
Advocate Amanda Ross told VNN she is allowing herself to feel some hope following the filing of SB 1470, which could allow domestic violence survivors like her aunt April Wilkens to be set free after spending decades behind bars.
Wilkens was sentenced to life in prison after killing her rapist and abuser following an attack.
“Passing SB 1470 bill will be a positive step in the right direction and would signal to Oklahomans that the Legislature is ready to tackle this epidemic of interpersonal violence in our state,” Ross said. “I plan to be at the capitol on February 27th to talk with my legislators about this bill.”
But the SB 1470's introduction is also bittersweet for Ross, as her childhood friend and fellow April Wilkens advocate Ashlyn Faulkner tragically passed away in December of last year.
Faulkner was 33 years old.
“Years ago, Ashlyn would listen to me struggle to understand April’s case and how her unfair sentencing could even be possible,” Ross said. “It seemed like Oklahoma was a particularly bad place for victims of domestic violence but I was afraid of causing more harm than good to April’s case. There’s a lot of second guessing yourself when trying to navigate the criminal justice system in Oklahoma. But Ashlyn was really affirming that this wasn’t fair and we needed to do something. We’d toss ideas around to see what would stick—what if we tried X, Y, Z? She encouraged me to reach out to the media.”
Ross connected with VNN in 2021. Both she and Faulkner were featured in a series about April Wilkens in 2022. Their story “The Lone Crusaders” discussed how the fight for justice for women like Wilkens was just a relentless two-woman effort before the statewide movement.
“VNN was the first outlet to pay attention to our fight to “Free April Wilkens!” when it was just the two of us,” Ross said. “I don’t think we ever imagined a bill like SB 1470 at the start, but Ashlyn is the reason that so many in Oklahoma, not just April Wilkens, are finally getting their spotlight and chance as justice. Ashlyn is in every aspect of this movement.”
Ross is now part of The OK Survivor Justice Coalition, a group of more than two dozen organizations and volunteers from all over the state working to combat Criminalized Survivorship through legislation and other initiatives.
The coalition advocated for a similar bill in 2023 but it died during the regular session.
The OK Survivor Justice Coalition held a Survivor Justice Kickoff Party for SB 1470 on January 25.
To read the full text of SB 1470, click here.
To join the OK Survivor Justice Coalition, click here.
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