After 34 years behind bars, a domestic violence survivor walked free. Why is she still the only one?
By Kilee Thomas
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OKLAHOMA (KOCO) — With a new Oklahoma law came a second chance for survivors of domestic violence, but only one success story has come from it.
The Oklahoma Survivors Act was designed to reduce the sentences of domestic abuse survivors who committed a crime against their abuser. Lisa Wright, who was in prison for 34 years at the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center for her role in her husband’s death, has been the only person released under the new law.
Other survivors are still being denied early release.
Lisa’s story
A lot has changed since 1990. Cellphones, the internet and even the dome at the Oklahoma state Capitol are all new for Wright.
Wright now walks free for the first time in decades. She was sentenced to prison for killing her husband, Mike Moss.
“Sitting on a life without the possibility of parole sentence, no one ever anticipated that I’d be out, much less be the only woman out on the Oklahoma Survivors Act,” Wright said.
On Jan. 8, 2025, a Seminole County judge granted her relief. She became the first ever case to win under the Oklahoma Survivors Act.
“Oh, gosh. When the judge said, ‘Time served. Free to go.’ Like, I get emotional about that because I wasn’t quite sure it was going to happen. I remember sitting in the courtroom holding Colleen’s hand, my attorney, and as the judge is declaring the verdict, and I jump up and hug her, and the next person I see is my daughter. It was a long time coming. She was five when I went in,” Wright said.
For years, court records show Wright was sexually, physically, psychologically and financially abused. The details are too graphic for distribution.
“Once I got pregnant, things just escalated, and my daughter and I were both abused,” Wright said.
Her 5-year-old daughter was also being molested. Wright initially kept it a secret because she was afraid of her husband, but she ended up reporting the abuse to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services and the district attorney.
Nothing was done.
Eventually, she told her brother, Richard, about what was happening.
On Jan. 17, 1990, court records say that Richard shot Moss and staged it as a robbery. Richard pleaded guilty, and he received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
Wright received the same sentence despite not being the person who fired the gun.
“I don’t think anyone wanted to hear what happened. They just wanted conviction,” Wright said. “There were a lot of people that were hurt because I didn’t handle things the right way, and I knew that I had to figure out how to live inside prison, so I didn’t really believe–I always prayed for–there was always a slim sliver of hope, but for the most part I knew that was probably my fate.”
Three decades later, in 2024, that sliver of hope emerged from the Oklahoma state Capitol.
The Oklahoma Survivors Act grants victims of domestic abuse who committed a crime against their abuser a shot at a sentence reduction if that abuse played a significant contributing factor in the crime.
“What was different from the initial trial to this one?” KOCO’s Kilee Thomas asked Wright.
“I was heard. Someone wanted to hear what happened, and someone believed us,” Wright said. “We kept trying to tell what happened back in 1990, and no one wanted to hear, not even my attorney. I was silenced back then, and I don’t want to be silenced anymore.”
What is the law?
State Rep. Danny Williams co-authored the Oklahoma Survivors Act.
“It’s hard to change, but when people change, there should be a reward for that,” Williams said.
When the Oklahoma Survivors Act came across the lawmaker’s desk, he thought of Wright.
“I actually taught her Sunday school class back in the day, so I knew the family, and I knew her circumstances,” Williams said. “She made one mistake that changed the trajectory of her life, so how much do you need to pay for one mistake?”
After 34 years, her abuse was heard, and her freedom was granted.
Wright thought she would be a beacon of change for other survivors, but that hasn’t happened.
“You’re the only person in Oklahoma who has been granted relief under the Oklahoma Survivors Act. Why do you think that is?” Kilee asked Wright.
“It so saddens my heart that the other ladies are not out. I thought that this would open the floodgates and I would be first to pave the way and that everyone else would come right behind me,” Wright said.
Two recent denials have sparked questions about the initial intent and language of the bill.
“It’s heartbreaking, and that’s not the intent of the law,” Wright said.
Colleen McCarty, executive director of Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, said the Oklahoma Survivor Act is being misunderstood in the courtroom.
“This isn’t a stand your ground. It’s not a self-defense. It’s not a battered women’s syndrome defense,” McCarty said. “It is something that has been sort of confused with some of those other defenses to say, ‘Well, they need to be in fear of their life, or they needed to have been not able to escape, or they needed to have been actively being abused when they created the crime,’ and that is not the case.”
Williams said there shouldn’t be a gray area when it comes to the law.
“When a judge is making an evaluation, it has to be based on the law, not on opinions, not on emotions. It needs to be based on fact,” Williams said. “Are the circumstances large enough to contribute to a modified sentence? That’s the question.”
To date, Wright is the sole survivor who has won her case under the Oklahoma Survivors Act.
“We’re not trying to prove guilt or innocence. We’ve already been proven guilty, and the Oklahoma Survivors Act, it doesn’t take away that guilt. It doesn’t take away that felony conviction. All it does is say, ‘You were a victim of domestic violence, and that’s why you committed your crime, and you deserve a little relief,'” Williams said.
Lisa’s fight continues
Despite that, Wright has sat in every hearing so far, offering support to other women who have that same sliver of hope she once did.
“Do you still have hope that this Oklahoma Survivors Act will work?” Kilee asked.
“Yeah, I have faith to believe that it will,” Wright said.
It has been almost a year since Wright was released from prison. KOCO spoke to her the day the judge granted her freedom.
“Don’t give up. Trust God that there is a way. People believe them. They’re fighting for them on the other side. We are fighting for them on the other side and just don’t give up,” Wright said after she was released.
Wright now has a passport, and she took her first flight to be reconnected with her daughter.
But Wright said her biggest dream is to walk back into prison and bring hope to other survivors of domestic abuse, telling them that there is a second chance at life.
“For me, these women have been silenced. They were silenced going through the abuse. They were silenced probably through the court system. I know I was, and they deserve their voice to be heard. They deserve an opportunity to have their voices heard and believed,” Wright said.
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