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Abuse is No Excuse: Oklahoma’s Judges Deny Sentencing Relief to Prisoners Who Were Raped and Physically Assaulted
Loaded on Aug. 1, 2026
by Douglas Ankney
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2026, page 43
Filed under:
State Legislation,
Domestic Violence,
Prosecutorial Misconduct,
Sentences - Adjustments and Departures,
Reduction of Sentence.
Location:
Oklahoma.
by Douglas Ankney
"I bled every day for five years until I finally had a hysterectomy,” said Lisa Rae Wright, describing her injuries after her husband had repeatedly punched her in the stomach during her pregnancy with their son.
In 2024, the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act (OSA) was …
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More from this issue:
- New Report on Privatized Prison Food Shines a Light on Aramark’s Harmful Practices, by Daniel A. Rosen
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $30,000 Settlement Reached in Virginia Jail Death That Put Richmond Lockup Under State Oversight, by Chuck Sharman
- Ombudsman Report Finds Use of Force Misapplied in Contraband Search, by Michael Thompson
- BOP Orders Prison Closures Amid Infrastructure Decay and Staff Shortages, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Oregon Reaches $49 Million Settlement with State Prisoners in COVID-19 Class-Action, by Chuck Sharman
- Colorado Governor Signs Bill to Expand Earned Time Credits and Other Measures, by Michael Thompson
- Ninth Circuit Revives HRDC Challenge to Washington DOC Mail Restrictions, by Chuck Sharman
- $4.5 Million Paid by Cook County for Detainee Suicide in Chicago Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Warden Out, Nineteen Guards Administratively Charged in Maryland Prisoner’s Death
- Detainees Overpower Guards to Take Control of a North Carolina Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
- At Least Three Guards Charged for Assaulting Two Massachusetts Prisoners
- Detroit Pays $5.8 Million to Former State Prisoner Exonerated of Murder After 15 Years, by Chuck Sharman
- “Safe Inside” Review Paid for by DOJ Found Prisons Grew Much Deadlier in Five Year-Period, by Michael Thompson
- Tuberculosis Outbreak, Protester Shooting at Colorado ICE Lockup
- Three Detainees Die in Four Days at the Tarrant County Jail, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Colorado Pays $245,000 to Muslim Former Prisoner Shaved by Same Guard Who Cost DOC Earlier Settlement with Jewish Prisoner Denied Kosher Meals, by Chuck Sharman
- $3 Million Settlement Reached with BOP for Attorney’s Fees in Sex Abuse Class-Action from Now-Shuttered California “Rape Club”, by Chuck Sharman
- $6.35 Million Paid for Ohio Jail Detainee’s Spinal Cord Injury Caused by Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Nevada Prisons Are Facing a Medical Crisis Due to Understaffing, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, by Chuck Sharman
- $3.25 Million Paid by Georgia After Prisoner Bakes to Death in Outdoor Recreation Cage, by Chuck Sharman
- $1.2 Million for Elderly Detainee Shoved Out the Door of Sacramento Jail by Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Overtime Cuts Lead to Reduced Programming in California Prisons
- New York Ordered to Pay Prisoner $25,000 for Failing to Protect Him from Attack, by Chuck Sharman
- Oklahoma County Jail Fails 12th Health Inspection
- The Exceptionally High Murder Rate Inside Maryland’s Prisons, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Oregon Agrees to $2.3 Million Settlement After Guards Toss Mentally Ill Prisoner in Solitary, Taunt Him Until He Kills Himself, by Chuck Sharman
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, by Chuck Sharman
- San Diego Guard Sentenced for Shoving a Shackled Detainee
- Tenth Circuit: Colorado Governor Unentitled to Eleventh Amendment Immunity on Claim Related to DOC Religious Policies, by David Reutter
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its “Money of Mass Incarceration” Report, by Michael Thompson
- Airconditioning Failure at Troubled ICE Detention Center in New Jersey, by Jo Ellen Nott
- $10.19 Million Paid for Retired California Prison Guard’s Death in Colorado Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Judge Grants Attorney’s Motion to Withdrawal from Corizon Health Case Due to Non-Payment, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Appeals Court: Witnesses Cannot be Forced to Wear Jail Clothes at Trial, by David Reutter
- Trump is Making Federal Prisons More Dangerous for Transgender Prisoners, by Michael Thompson
- Abuse is No Excuse: Oklahoma’s Judges Deny Sentencing Relief to Prisoners Who Were Raped and Physically Assaulted, by Douglas Ankney
- $100,000 Paid to New York Detainee Whose Infant Died in Syracuse Jail, by Chuck Sharman
- Audit of Louisiana DOC Finds Fault with Prisoner Release Calculation System, by Douglas Ankney
- GAO Report Finds Rampant Sexual Abuse in Federal Prisons, Most Cases Unresolved, by Michael Thompson
- Court Records Reveal Alabama DOC Guard Ignored Stabbed Prisoner, by Michael Thompson
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, by Matthew Clarke
- New York Closes Rikers Infirmary as Broader Jail Shutdown Plan Stalls, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Report Shows Pattern of Sexual Assaults in Santa Clara County Jail, by Michael Thompson
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, by Matthew Clarke
- Jail Oversight Body Stalled by New York Governor, by Michael Thompson
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, by Matthew Clarke
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Damages Class Certification in Opioid Treatment Denial, by Michael Thompson
- Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of State-Law Qualified Immunity in Scabies Case, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, by Matthew Clarke
- Tulsa Jail Shutting Down After Investigative Reporting on Detainee Deaths
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, by Matthew Clarke
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail
- Fourth Circuit Revives Disabled Prisoner’s Claim for Denial of Out-of-Cell Exercise Time, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Second Circuit Vacates Above-Guidelines Firearm-Trafficking Sentence Based on Failure to Assist Law Enforcement and Unexplained Reliance on Factors Already Included in Guidelines Range, Sept. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Reverses Convictions, Holding Requirement That Defendant Testify Before Displaying Hand Tattoos Violates Fifth Amendment, Sept. 1, 2026
- Ohio Supreme Court Announces Postconviction DNA-Testing Orders Need Only Identify Statutory Reason to Satisfy R.C. 2953.73(D) “Reasons” Requirement, Sept. 1, 2026
- Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026
- New Jersey Court Rules That Denial of Transgender Prisoner’s Transfer Request Violates Neither Discrimination Law nor Equal Protection Clause, Sept. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Upholds Consultants’ Finding that Oklahoma Is Not Honoring Its Consent Decree to Provide Mental Health Treatment, Sept. 1, 2026
- BOP Denies Providing Substandard Dialysis Treatment Despite Prisoners’ Deaths, Court Filings, Understaffing and Lack of Oversight, Sept. 1, 2026
- New Jersey Supreme Court Orders Plenary Hearing Before Special Adjudicator on Reliability of Fingerprint Evidence, Holding Century of Judicial Acceptance Did Not Satisfy Trial Court’s Gatekeeping Obligation Under N.J.R.E. 702, Aug. 1, 2026
- En Banc Eleventh Circuit Announces All Parents, Including Those Convicted of Child-Sex Offenses, Enjoy Fundamental Right to Live With Their Children, Holding Alabama Residency Prohibition Subject to Strict Scrutiny, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Announces Courts May Examine Individual Officer’s Subjective Purpose When Assessing Whether Warrantless Administrative Inspection Was Pretextual, Holding Suppression Required Where Trooper’s Sole Motive for Stop Was Criminal Investigati, Aug. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- North Carolina’s “Iryna’s Law” Leads to Jail Overcrowding, Sept. 1, 2026. Overcrowding, State Legislation, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Bail/Pretrial Release.
- Idaho Legislature Moves to Hide Execution Protocol from Judicial Scrutiny, Sept. 1, 2026. Disclosure of Records, Discovery, Public Records, State Legislation, Method of Execution.
- Mental Health Diversion from New York State Jails Varies Widely by County, Sept. 1, 2026. Criminal justice system reform, Alternative Sentencing, Mental Health, State Legislation.
- New Connecticut Law Changes PREA Standards, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Administrative Exhaustion, Prison Rape Elimination Act, State Legislation.
- $75 Million CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Minnesota Private Prison Creates Resistance from Activists and Lawmakers, Sept. 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Protests, Advocacy, State Legislation, Immigration Detention.
- Jail Oversight Body Stalled by New York Governor, Aug. 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Prison Reform, Public Records, State Legislation.
- Colorado Governor Signs Bill to Expand Earned Time Credits and Other Measures, Aug. 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Overdetention, State Legislation, Credits, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Florida Supreme Court Announces District Courts of Appeal Have Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Downward Departure Sentence, Holding Sentencing Order Is Final Order Appealable as Matter of Right, Aug. 1, 2026. Constitution, state, Appealable Issues/Orders, Abuse of Discretion Standard, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Authority and Jurisdiction.
- Missouri Bill Increases Mandatory Minimums, Expands Prosecutors’ Role in Juvenile Court, July 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Prosecutors, State Legislation, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Mandatory Minimum Sentence.
- California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026. Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Grounds for Relief.