[3] Representative Toni Hasenbeck filed HB 1639[a] in January 2023 as a bill that "would allow a survivor to enter into a lesser sentencing range when evidence of abuse has been substantiated," after a mid-September 2022 Oklahoma House interim study she had requested heard testimony from advocates of criminalized domestic violence survivors, including supporters of April Wilkens.

[8] Paula Marshall, CEO of Bama Cos., said the bill offered "nuance in sentencing" in a Tulsa World op-ed.

[10][11] The committee members included Rande Worthen (chair), John George, Collin Dule, Jason Lowe, Stan May, Lonnie Sims, and Judd Strom.

[12] After the bill passed committee, Wilkens was quoted as saying on a phone interview that “So many women in prison with me here have told me just chilling stories about the abuse they’ve suffered too before coming here.

"[13] Before and after the bill passed committee, advocates for HB 1639 visited the capitol to speak with legislators and conduct art projects.

"[17] The Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice released a statement asking the Senate to add retroactivity back in and saying that often the prosecution of current criminalized survivors tries "to keep out the evidence of the abuse because it was prejudicial to their cases."

Additionally, a study by FWD.us shows 66% of women in Oklahoma prisons experienced intimate partner violence within a year of their incarceration.

"[24] At least 156 women at Mabel Bassett wrote "letters claiming to have experienced intimate partner violence at the time their crime was committed.

[27] The Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice released a statement asking the Senate to add retroactivity back in and saying that often the prosecution of current criminalized survivors tries "to keep out the evidence of the abuse because it was prejudicial to their cases.

[30] Hasenbeck has stated that, because of HB 1639, she has had District Attorneys in her office who dislike the bill "because they don't want to have lookbacks" on their past cases if retroactivity is retained in the language.

[34] Advocates of the coalition held a "press conference on the steps of the Capitol to plead with legislators to restore retroactivity and allow those domestic violence victims in prison to be included in the law change.

If approved by voters, such a measure "would abolish the Judicial Nominating Commission from the selection process for appellate court judges."