The Oklahoma Senate acted just a day after Governor Kevin Stitt vetoed Senate Bill 1470. The measure is meant to give domestic abuse survivors who face sentencing for a crime to ask for their abuse to be considered.
In his veto statement, Stitt indicated he wanted criminal justice reform to continue in Oklahoma but did not agree with the policy changes in SB 1470.
“I remain committed to criminal justice reform and modernization, but Senate Bill 1470 – which has been championed by some criminal justice advocates – is bad policy. Although sold as a shield to protect victims, this bill would create a sword by which criminal defendants will fight the imposition of justice based on prior abuse. Said differently, untold numbers of violent individuals who are incarcerated or should be incarcerated in the future will have greater opportunity to present a threat to society due to this bill’s impact,” Stitt wrote.
Of course, that didn’t sit well with Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat. He brought it to the Senate floor on Wednesday to override Stitt’s veto. The Senate voted 46 to one in favor of the override.
“It is appalling that the governor wouldn’t stand up for the victims of domestic violence. The governor is playing politics in the worst way possible, and this stands to negatively impact the lives of victims of horrific crimes, further traumatizing them. There was zero communication from the governor or his team before vetoing this legislation. He either has no grasp of this policy or doesn’t care enough to get involved to inform himself. Whichever it is, it’s embarrassing, especially for our state that has such a high rate of domestic violence,” said Treat in a statement after the override vote.
Treat points to the bill’s language in which the defendant must provide evidence corroborating that the defendant was at the time of the offense, a victim of domestic violence and at least one piece of documentary evidence.
The fate of SB 1470 is now up to the House.
