The Oklahoma Survivors' Act provides a new mitigation defense strategy by allowing domestic abuse victims to present evidence of their abuse during sentencing and apply for resentencing if the abuse was a significant factor in their crime. Oklahoma has high rates of domestic violence and incarceration of women. A notable case illustrates the harsh penalties faced by abuse victims. The revised Act, effective August 2024, recognizes domestic violence as a mitigating factor in sentencing and helps address issues in the state's failure-to-protect law, improving the treatment of domestic violence survivors in the justice system.
Revision of Oklahoma Survivors' Act Could Help Defendants at Sentencing
Senate Bill 1835 was signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt in May 2024. Bill 1835 is an update to the Oklahoma Survivor's Act that will go into effect on the last day of August 2024. This revision of the Oklahoma Survivor's Act recognizes how a history of domestic violence and abuse can be a mitigating factor that should be taken into account when judges sentence victims convicted of committing criminal acts.
Addressing the Failure of Oklahoma's Failure-to-Protect Law
In Oklahoma, a parent or person responsible for the care of a child can be charged with a criminal act for not taking reasonable action to protect the child from abuse or neglect. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, 93 percent of those charged and convicted with failing to protect a child in Oklahoma are women. Women accused of failing to protect their child from abuse may be helped in court by the newly enacted Oklahoma Survivors' Act. It may be difficult for a parent who is the victim of domestic violence to protect a child from abuse by the same offender who is actively abusing them as well. The Oklahoma Survivors' Act will allow a parent who is themselves a victim to bring this fact to the attention of a court and have it taken into consideration during sentencing. Recent cases in Oklahoma raise questions about how our criminal justice system treats victims of domestic violence.
Case Study: A Domestic Violence Survivor's Story
For one woman who endured years of abuse from her fiancé, fighting back against her abuser resulted in a criminal conviction and a life sentence. After breaking off their engagement, the woman drove to her tormentor's home to plead with him to agree to end their relationship. The ex-boyfriend responded with violence, and the woman, after being raped and beaten, shot him in self-defense. She was charged with premeditated murder in the first degree. Despite evidence of her abuse, she was convicted and has been denied parole twice, having already served 26 years of her life sentence.
Oklahoma still has a long way to go in the treatment of victims of domestic violence. At least the Oklahoma Survivors' Act signals a potential beginning point.
How Do Victims Benefit From the Updated Law?
Victims of domestic violence benefit from the updated Survivor's Act during sentencing for a crime of which they are convicted. The updated law does not act as a way for individuals to defend against wrongful allegations. Instead, the law allows for another avenue of presenting mitigation to a judge to show why an offender should receive a lighter sentence based on the abuse that they suffered.
What Proof Is Required to Take Advantage of the Updated Survivor's Act?
In order to benefit from the new law, defendants must provide proof that the abuse occurred. Proof must be in the form of at least one piece of documentary evidence such as “a court record, pre-sentence report, social services report, hospital record, sworn statement from a witness to the domestic violence or abuse who is not the defendant, law enforcement record, domestic incident report, or protective order.”
How Can Victims Find Out if the New Law Impacts Their Case?
Victims can find out if the new law impacts their case by contacting a criminal defense attorney to review the charges and alleged evidence in the case. An attorney requires access to the necessary documentary evidence described in the Act, but the inquiry begins with looking at the specific charges and the characteristics and history of the defendant. The attorney needs to have a good faith basis that the defendant was a victim of domestic violence at the time of the offense they are charged with committing.
Domestic Violence in Oklahoma
Oklahoma ranks second in the nation for domestic violence incidents and also for the number of women killed by men. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 40.1% of women and 37.8% of men are victims of intimate partner physical violence, rape, or stalking at some time during their lives. Oklahoma leads the nation with the highest number of domestic violence crimes committed against women. It also incarcerates more women than any country in the world except for one.
Domestic violence is a crime that usually takes place behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny. It's not until a victim speaks up, is killed, or retaliates against an abuser that a couple's secret life is subjected to public scrutiny. However, years of emotional abuse and physical violence, including rape and assault, are not taken into account when the victim is charged with a crime against her abuser or when police investigate a failure-to-protect complaint..
