SAMINOLE, Oklahoma (Aiexpress) — The Oklahoma Survivors’ Act lets a woman who was given a life term for her part in killing her husband in 1990 a second chance at life. The judge released the woman from prison.
Lisa Moss had a hearing on Wednesday. She has been out of prison for 34 years after being given a life term for conspiracy and first-degree felony murder in the death of her 37-year-old husband, Lanny Mike Moss.
Lisa got home from work to find her husband dead inside. The room where he was found was badly damaged. After the fact, the Chief Medical Examiner found that Lanny had two gunshot wounds to the head.
Lisa and her brother Richard Lee Wright were both arrested after her husband died.
According to the OCCA, Lisa later claimed that she had asked her brother to kill her husband a few days before he died.
It was her brother who admitted to pulling the gun. In this case, he was also charged with murder.
Moss’s lawyers asked for a lighter term and said their client had been sexually, physically, and mentally abused and that Lanny had raped her many times. The lawyers also said that Lanny had been sexually assaulting Lisa’s daughter for a number of months.
Lisa and Wright have been doing their time for life since then.
The Oklahoma Survivors’ Act was passed by the state legislature in 2024. It lets victims of domestic violence get a new sentence if they can show proof that the abuse played a part in the crime.
The first case from the past to be shared under the new law was Moss’s.
At the hearing on Wednesday, it was shown that Mike had abused Lisa physically and sexually in several cases.
Under the Oklahoma Survivors Act, Moss’s lawyers asked for a hearing to present evidence in December.
Moss said, “I will get a second chance at life,” as she left court for good. “I’m going to spend time with my kids and grandchildren.” The rest of my family.
Moss spoke at the hearing on Wednesday. She was upset as she talked about what she called “years of abuse.” She said her husband abused her physically, sexually, and mentally.
Oklahoma Appleseed, a non-profit group that fought the case for months, was Moss’s lawyer.
An Oklahoma Appleseed lawyer, Colleen McCarty, said, “To come to Seminole, Oklahoma, a small town like this in the middle of nowhere, and have the evidence we had accepted, believed, and ruled on is a historic moment.” “This isn’t only for Lisa.” Things are getting better for people who have been victims of crime. We’re going to get all of them.
It was the state’s case that Mike’s abusive behavior was never documented in any court papers or police records.
Erik Johnson, the DA for Seminole County, said, “The judge made a decision that, you know, our victim’s family doesn’t agree with.” “The judge thinks that they produced enough evidence as required by the Survivors Act.”
When the judge read the decision, there were tears from family and friends in the courtroom. She said that she got her degree while she was in jail and that she already has a job and a place to live now that she is free.
“I’m going to spend time with my family.” “I want to spend time with my family,” Moss said.
