One of the first women to use battered woman syndrome as a defense in an Oklahoma trial
Criminal charges
Murder of Terry Carlton
Criminal penalty
Life in prison with the possibility of parole
Criminal status
Convicted, appealing
April Rose Wilkens (born April 25, 1970) is an American woman serving a life sentence at Mabel Bassett Correctional Center after her conviction for the murder of Terry Carlton and the subject of the podcast series Panic Button: The April Wilkens Case. She was one of the first women to use battered woman syndrome in an Oklahoma trial, and claimed to have acted in self defense,[1][2] but it did not work in her favor and she was still found guilty by a jury. Local Tulsa news stations still to this day are hesitant to cover her case due to Carlton's family owning and operating dealerships which buy ad time from them.[3][4] Her case caused an "outcry from those who say she acted because of battered woman syndrome."[5] As of 2022, she was going into her 25th year of incarceration.[6]
Wilkens is featured as starting head of the dog rehabilitation and adoption program in Mabel Basset in the 2015 student documentary Bassett Tails by Friends for Folks.[7][8][9][10] She also leads a physical health training program at the prison.[11][12][13] In 2022, her case was picked up by the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice under the Network for the Appleseed Foundation after continued denials of parole.[14] The OK Appleseed Center "will be raising awareness about April's case in hopes she will one day be set free."[15] They are using Wilkens's story to lobby "Oklahoma lawmakers to draft and pass a bill that would let courts resentence certain survivors of abuse—specifically, ones whose crimes were related to the domestic violence they experienced."[16] In 2023, she was mentioned in the "Kill or be Killed?" episode about Nikki Addimando in ABC's 20/20, along with other criminalized survivors.[17] Her essays in support of criminalized survivors have been published in The Oklahoman and USA Today.[18][19] Wilkens will not be eligible for parole again until 2025.[20]
^Dye, Abigail (July 14, 2022). "Tulsa nonprofit sheds light on murder case, alleges killing was self defense". Fox23.
^"The Shooting | 1". Panic Button: The April Wilkens Case. June 28, 2022.
^Sarah Pitts. "Sister Speaks at Mabel Bassett". OU Daily. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
^Bassett Tales - Friends for Folks, retrieved November 17, 2021
^"Oklahoma prison becomes second in state to open dog training program". Oklahoman.com. January 25, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
^BREWER, GRAHAM (November 8, 2014). "Groundbreaking held for kennel of inmate dog-training program in Oklahoma". The Oklahoman.
^"VNN LIVE | VNC Updates". VNN. June 8, 2022.
^VNN (August 24, 2022). "VNN LIVE | April Wilkens Updates". YouTube.
^""It's a good addiction," Inmates see results and sisterhood formed during health program". KFOR. 2022.
^Verified News Network (May 25, 2022). "VNN LIVE | April Wilkens Update". YouTube.
^"Criminalized Survivorship is a uniquely American phenomenon". OKLAHOMA APPLESEED CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE. 2022.
^Michaels, Samantha (August 11, 2022). "Women's Prisons Are Filled With Domestic Violence Survivors. A New Type of Law Could Help Them Get Out". Mother Jones.
^ABC 20/20 (2023). "S45E18Kill Or Be Killed". American Broadcasting Company.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Wilkens, April (March 7, 2023). "I shot my abuser to escape. Why are so many domestic violence survivors like me in prison?". USA Today.
^Wilkens, April (February 26, 2023). "Guest: I am one of many domestic violence victims incarcerated in Oklahoma, but there's hope". The Oklahoman.
^"Improved access to mental health care in Oklahoma could help reduce female incarceration, advocates say". VNN. June 21, 2022.
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