Oklahoma Prosecutors May Pressure Domestic Violence Survivors To Waive Their Rights

Earlier this year, Oklahoma state lawmakers passed a historic law requiring reduced sentences for survivors of domestic violence who could prove their crimes were related to their abuse.

The Oklahoma Survivors’ Act, which passed with nearly unanimous support from state lawmakers, was inspired by women who faced harsh prison sentences for killing their abusers to protect themselves; who committed a crime while trying to flee abuse; or who were pressured by their abuser into breaking the law. It created a sentencing matrix that caps sentences for qualifying individuals at 30 years in prison. People who were sentenced prior to the law’s passage can petition for resentencing under the modified rules.

Now, less than three weeks after the law went into effect, prosecutors in one of the state’s most populous counties are considering a plan to exclude potential candidates from sentencing relief. The office of Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler has created a form for people entering plea deals that would require anyone who signs it to surrender their rights under the domestic violence bill.

“As a consequence of said negotiated plea, I am affirmatively stating that the Oklahoma Survivor’s Act and any of its benefits do not apply to me,” states the waiver, which was obtained by HuffPost. “I am waiving my ability to raise a claim under the Oklahoma Survivor’s Act both now at the time of plea, during a subsequent revocation hearing (if applicable), and after I have been sentenced in a post-conviction setting.”

The Tulsa County DA’s office told a local ABC affiliate that it “intends to memorialize whether someone is eligible under the Act at the time of sentencing,” and that “if a defendant is eligible, the Act will