We Fight for the Rights & Opportunities of Every Oklahoman
NOTICE
On May 21st, 2024, Governor Kevin Stitt signed the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act (SB 1835) - cited at 22 OS 1090.1 et. seq. - into law. It goes into effect August 29th, 2024. This law provides for retroactive resentencing for survivors of domestic violence serving sentences in Oklahoma prisons. To qualify, survivors must be able to prove the abuse with documentary evidence, they must be able to show the abuse was a significant factor in their offense or their criminal behavior. If their crime is coded as a violence crime, they must also show the victim was their abuser, or that they were coerced by their abuser to commit the crime.
If you believe you may qualify for sentencing relief, send an email to info@okappleseed.org, or mail your request for review to OK Appleseed at 822 E. 6th St., Tulsa OK 74120. We will review your case in the order it was received. You will want to attach the evidence you have obtained that will support your claim for resentencing.
If you are considering applying for sentencing relief, we urge you to wait until a lawyer has reviewed your case. The Survivors’ Act is complicated and has a high evidentiary burden. If a person is not successful in applying for resentencing, they are not provided the chance to reapply. It is crucial you wait and see if we can provide pro bono legal support.
AVISO
El 21 de mayo de 2024, el gobernador Kevin Stitt firmó la Ley de Sobrevivientes de Oklahoma (SB 1835) - citada en el 22 OS 1090.1 y siguientes - que entrará en vigencia el 29 de agosto de 2024. Esta ley permite la resentencia retroactiva para sobrevivientes de violencia doméstica cumpliendo condena en prisiones de Oklahoma. Para calificar, los sobrevivientes deben poder demostrar el abuso con pruebas documentales, y mostrar que el abuso fue un factor significativo en su delito o conducta criminal. Si su delito está codificado como un delito de violencia, también deben demostrar que la víctima era su agresor o que fueron coaccionados por su agresor para cometer el delito.
Si cree que puede calificar para la reducción de sentencia, envíe un correo electrónico a info@okappleseed.org, o envíe su solicitud de revisión por correo a OK Appleseed, 822 E. 6th St., Tulsa OK 74120. Revisaremos su caso en el orden en que se recibió. Debe adjuntar las pruebas que respalden su solicitud de resentencia.
Si está considerando solicitar una reducción de sentencia, le recomendamos que espere hasta que un abogado haya revisado su caso. La Ley de Sobrevivientes es complicada y tiene un alto requisito de pruebas. Si una persona no tiene éxito en la solicitud de resentencia, no se le proporciona la oportunidad de volver a aplicar. Es crucial que espere y vea si podemos proporcionar apoyo legal pro bono.
We Are Dedicated To Making A Difference in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice was founded in May of 2022 with the mission of fighting for justice and opportunity for every Oklahoman. We are part of a national network of justice centers called the Appleseed Network. This network is made up of seventeen other centers across the United States and one in Mexico City.
The Network was founded by the 1958 Harvard Law Class in the 1990s to serve as a grassroots public interest law network. The Network uses four tools of social change to improve society and advocate for under-resourced communities. Those tools are structural litigation, legal research, community organizing, and legislative change.
Oklahoma Appleseed has been featured in…
Our work is by Oklahomans for Oklahomans. In our second year of operation, we forged partnerships and blazed trails across Oklahoma. We couldn’t do it without our partners and funders. Read the annual report to see in depth details on our impact in Oklahoma.
NEW: The 2023-24 Annual Report
Strategic Areas of Focus
Criminal Justice
Our team began OK Appleseed in 2022 with the belief that Oklahoma can become a more just and fair society. Since we launched we have uncovered truths about the system we couldn't have imagined, and worked to right decades old wrongs.
Education Justice
Public education is the bedrock of our democracy. If we don't have citizens that are educated enough participate in our democracy, then all is lost. The reality is that 15.6% of Oklahomans live below the poverty line. We have to ensure they have free, fair, reasonable access to good education.
Election Justice
Oklahomans have a comparatively low voter turnout, and many Oklahomans aren't sure if they're eligible to vote due to felony convictions. We're doing a deep analysis of election laws and working with advocates in the space to understand and bring value to elections and election law in Oklahoma.
Economic Justice
Oklahomans need and deserve to make competitive wages, have quality jobs, and live in thriving communities. Traditionally, we have been an economically depressed state—but we don’t have to be. Oklahoma families require stability, continuing education and care for them to be able to achieve their economic dreams.
Mental illness and criminal justice system involvement often coexist and attorneys need better tools to advise clients with mental illness. That’s why we developed a new guide for lawyers defending clients with metal health challenges.
Guide to Defending Clients with Mental Illness
Oklahoma Appleseed Presents:
Panic Button Season Two
Operation: Wildfire
Come with us on a journey through rural Oklahoma, on the backroads and through the courthouses as we track a serial domestic abuser who is still out there. One person with a trail of victims as long as Boston Pool Road winding all the way back to 1997. What will it take for a punitive system to hold a known violent offender accountable? So many folks said that April Wilkens should have held back, should not have shot so many times, should have left. But what happens when an abuser is left unchecked in Oklahoma? Women are getting life sentences for fighting back — but men go on to abuse with impunity.