Resentencing Applications Under Survivors’ Act Filed for Three Women Convicted of Murder
KTUL - October 3, 2024 6:17 am
Gov. Stitt signed a revised Oklahoma Survivors' Act into law. in May 2024.(KTUL)
TULSA, OK (KTUL) — Attorneys representing three domestic violence survivors in separate murder cases have filed applications to be considered for resentencing under the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act.
“All three of the cases filed are Oklahoma mothers who are serving decades in prison for surviving horrific incidents of stalking and abuse,” said Leslie Briggs, an attorney with Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.
Judith Nix, 78, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2001 death of her ex-husband, Kenneth Nix, 69.
Carlo Enloe, 57, was convicted of second murder in the 2004 death of her ex-boyfriend James Martin, 32.
Kim Perigo, 58, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2001 death of her ex-husband Jeffrey Packett, 40.
“These women, through these procedural decisions made by judges, are not being allowed to put on the full picture of what led up to and during the crime,” Briggs said. “That’s why this new law is so powerful.
Oklahoma lawmakers passed the Oklahoma Survivors’ Act with nearly unanimous support in May, requiring reduced sentences for domestic violence survivors who could prove it “was a substantial contributing factor” to their crime.
The law is intended to bolster protections for victims of domestic abuse who kill their abusers while defending themselves, or who are coerced by their abusers to commit a crime.
It doesn’t determine guilt or innocence, and only factors into the sentencing phase for those who qualify.
The law creates a framework, with a 30-year maximum sentence, for those who can provide substantiated evidence, like police reports of the abuse, hospital records, and protective orders.
Those who are already incarcerated in Oklahoma can apply to have their sentence modified by a judge under the new law, but the burden falls on them to prove they meet the threshold.
In Nix’s case, attorneys said she filed a protective order against her husband in 2012 but it was dismissed when neither showed up to prosecute.
Nix told investigators that he had threatened to kill her and the gun went off in the struggle.
Prosecutors said Nix shot her ex-husband while he was sleeping.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals upheld her murder conviction in 2018.
“There was a really strong adverse reaction, she didn’t report it right away,” said attorney Brent Rowland, who notes that more research is needed to understand the prolonged impact of domestic violence.
“We don’t understand enough about the very deep psychological effects it has on people.”
Since the law went into effect on Aug. 29, 2024, five applications have been filed for consideration by attorneys with the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice.
The Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office and Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to requests for comment.
