TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa woman convicted of killing her ex-boyfriend is asking to be released from prison. April Wilkens has served for the past 27 years for the 1998 murder of Terry Carlton.
Wilkens' attorneys are asking the judge to reconsider the evidence in this case, and under the Oklahoma Survivor's Act, they say her sentence should be 25 years, and she has already spent 27 years behind bars.
WATCH: Tulsa woman with murder conviction is asking to be released from prison
According to court records, Wilkens says she suffered years of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Terry Carlton.
A jury found her guilty of his murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison. Her attorney, Colleen McCarty, is asking the judge in this case to reconsider the evidence and says that she should be released based on the Oklahoma Survivor's Act, which says that people can get shorter sentences if it's proven that the person they killed had abused them.
Today's hearing is so that the judge can hear all of the evidence and make a decision whether or not to adjust her sentence.
After opening statements by both the prosecution and the defense -- the defense called domestic violence response professional, Angela Baetty, with the YWCA. Baetty testified that she had reviewed court transcripts, police reports, and made a timeline of the abuse that Wilkens suffered at the hands of Terry Carlton.
However, on the state's cross-examination, prosecutors worked to discredit her testimony, saying she is not a licensed psychologist and asked why Baetty left out Wilken's drug abuse in her report.
Baetty says Wilkens acted in self-defense when she shot and killed her ex-boyfriend in 1998.
Other witnesses called included a former employee of Terry Carlton, who worked with him at Don Carlton Acura back in 1998, and a Tulsa police lieutenant.
He testified about a vandalism call he responded to involving April Wilkens. He says she was high on meth at the time and acting erratically.
The resentencing hearing wrapped up Sept. 3 and is scheduled to resume Sept 4 at 9:45 am.
The state is expected to call an expert, and the defense is planning its rebuttal. The judge could decide Sept. 4 or later if Wilkens will be resentenced.
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