Women Who Killed Abusive Partners Get a Shot at Freedom

In Oklahoma, a first-of-its-kind law meant to give imprisoned domestic-violence survivors a second chance is running into a familiar force: prosecutors unwilling to budge. In a sweeping New York Times Magazine/ProPublica piece, Pamela Colloff follows women who killed or helped kill their abusers and are now testing the state's 2024 Oklahoma Survivors' Act, which lets judges shorten sentences if abuse clearly fueled the crime. The law worked spectacularly once: Lisa Rae Moss, who'd endured years of brutal assaults and wasn't present when her husband was shot, walked free after 35 years when a judge ruled her abuse had substantially contributed to the murder.

For most others, it's a different story. Colloff details how Tulsa County DA Steve Kunzweiler and colleagues have fought resentencing bids, aggressively cross-examining women like April Wilkens—whose ex-fiance's violence was extensively documented—and hiring experts to attribute their actions to drugs or mental illness instead of abuse. Judges have now denied relief in case after case, exposing deep discretion in how "survivor justice" laws are applied and raising the question of whether the system can see these women as both perpetrators and victims. Read the full, meticulously reported piece.