OK judge grants woman sentenced to life for murder court hearing to challenge sentence

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A Tulsa County District judge says the first Oklahoman to apply for resentencing under the Oklahoma Survivor's Act will get a hearing to decide if her current life sentence is illegal.

News 4 has been following April Wilkens' case. She admitted to the 1999 murder of her ex-boyfriend, Terry Carlton. Wilkens said that she was held hostage, raped and assaulted before she shot Carlton with his own gun. The relationship of two years was filled with victim protective orders, drugs and domestic violence.

Wilkens has been parole-eligible since 2013, but has been denied five times, despite exemplary behavior while incarcerated. The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office has opposed parole.

In 2024, the Oklahoma Legislature passed the Oklahoma Survivors Act, which allows for resentencing for defendants who apply and are approved who have suffered domestic violence. The law applies for both victims who haven't been convicted of a crime and has a retroactive clause that allows people who are already incarcerated to ask a judge to reconsider their sentence.

Lisa Moss was the first Oklahoman to get a resentencing hearing in Seminole County earlier this year and be released from prison. She had served more time than Wilkens, but didn't apply until after Wilkens.

"A lot of times, when you're in the legislature, you pass something and four or five years later you may see some results," said Greg Treat, former Oklahoma Senate Pro Tempore. "The year after was great."

Treat helped get the law to the finish line, saying authors tried to safeguard the initial bill language to make sure that potential applicants didn't try and exploit the system.

"We really tried to make it a very narrow funnel that people could get through to help the people that it was intended to, and I think we did a good job of narrowing that funnel quite a bit," said Treat.

Even still, the law has faced some push back from those, Treat believes have the impression it will be used to rob other victims families of justice.

"I know that one of the big opponents was the Tulsa County District Attorney to this issue," said Treat. "And it sounds like he's being reluctant to allow it."

Wilkens' attorneys argued the same in a writ of habeas corpus filed April 4 seeking that she be placed on supervised release until her hearing. They allege that Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler has "unreasonably delayed her resentencing." They say Kunzweiler has shown no evidence was Wilkens shouldn't get a resentencing hearing and calls her current sentence illegal.

Wilkens' attorneys declined an interview with News 4 on Monday to comment further.

News 4 requested an interview with Kunzweiler as well, a spokesperson declined, but offered the following statement:

A Tulsa County District judge granted Wilkens a habeas hearing, but a date has not been scheduled. In that hearing, the court will decide if her imprisonment is lawful, and will allow her attorneys to challenge her custody.