Starting June 28th, a new true-crime-advocacy podcast called Panic Button: The April Wilkens Case will release an episode per week on all available channels. The podcast details the story of April Wilkens who survived an intensely abusive relationship for over two years while police and other interventions failed. Ultimately, April fought back in self-defense during a life-and-death struggle with her abuser, Terry Carlton. Terry was killed, and April was tried for First Degree Murder in Tulsa in 1999. She was sentenced to life by a jury and sent to Mabel Bassett Correctional Center where she remains to this day.
The podcast asks important questions about our systemic response to intimate partner violence, addiction, and mental health treatment. Although we hope that things have improved, April is not the only woman serving time in an Oklahoma prison for fighting back. You can listen, review, and subscribe to the podcast on all your usual channels.
The podcast is presented by Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice and hopes to gather supporters and advocates to both support April and help to bring her home. To learn more visit okappleseed.org/panic-button-podcast .