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In October 2023, the trial court ruled that Kizer's statements to the police were not [[admissible evidence|admissible]] because she did not receive a [[Miranda warning]] and her attorney was not present during her questioning. As of October 31, 2023, no trial date has been scheduled.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-10-31 |title=Video, transcripts of Wisconsin woman's police interview cannot be used at her trial, judge rules |url=https://apnews.com/article/sexual-trafficking-killing-wisconsin-ruling-e26c748b6816dda919145eb41fc03da4 |access-date=2024-02-08 |work=[[Associated Press]] |language=en}}</ref>
== Analysis ==
Critics of Kizer's arrest argued that the criminal justice system frequently punishes trafficking victims such as Kizer.<ref name="Brooks-BFnews2020" />{{sfn |Taylor |2023 |p=181}} Sex crimes expert Rachel Monaco-Wilcox stated that children of color are seen as willing participants in trafficking cases.<ref name="interview" />
== Reactions ==
The case received global attention following the [[George Floyd protests]], which led to renewed interest in criminal justice reform and an influx of donations to organizations such as [[Chicago Community Bond Fund]].<ref name="Oconnell-Indep2020" />{{sfn|Fortini|2020}}
Kizer's mother, Devore Taylor, formed the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee to organize around the case and to raise bail money.<ref name="Oconnell-Indep2020" />
Supporters wrote letters to Kizer.<ref name="Brooks-BFnews2020" /> [[Cyntoia Brown|Cyntoia Brown-Long]] wrote an op-ed that outlined the similarities between their cases.<ref name="Brooks-BFnews2020" /> [[Alyssa Milano]] and [[Tarana Burke]] were among those who circulated information about the case on social media.<ref name="activists">{{Cite news |last=Contrera |first=Jessica |date=December 31, 2019 |title=Activists, celebrities call for Chrystul Kizer's release in sex trafficking murder case |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/activists-celebrities-call-for-chrystul-kizers-release-in-sex-trafficking-murder-case/2019/12/31/d11fa1aa-28d1-11ea-b2ca-2e72667c1741_story.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120035725/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/activists-celebrities-call-for-chrystul-kizers-release-in-sex-trafficking-murder-case/2019/12/31/d11fa1aa-28d1-11ea-b2ca-2e72667c1741_story.html |archive-date=20 November 2021}}</ref
Since the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Kizer can raise the trafficking victim affirmative defense, the Free Chrystul Kizer campaign and other supporters have demanded that all charges against Kizer be dismissed.{{sfn |Spencer |2023 |p=17 n. 9}}
▲Kizer's mother, Devore Taylor, formed the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee to organize around the case and to raise bail money.<ref name="Oconnell-Indep2020" /> The case received renewed attention again after the [[George Floyd protests]],<ref name="interview" /> and organizations such as Chicago Community Bond Fund received an influx of donations.<ref name="Oconnell-Indep2020" />
== See also ==
|
Revision as of 21:29, 13 February 2024
Wisconsin v. Kizer | |
---|---|
Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
Full case name | State of Wisconsin v. Chrystul D. Kizer |
Decided | July 6, 2022 (interlocutory) |
Citation(s) | State v. Kizer, 403 Wis.2d 142 (2022). |
Case history | |
Appealed from | Wisconsin circuit courts |
Appealed to | Wisconsin Court of Appeals (State v. Kizer, 398 Wis.2d 697 (2021).) |
Subsequent action(s) | Remanded for trial |
Case opinions | |
Wis. Stat. 939.46(1m) is a complete defense to first-degree intentional homicide; defined "directly related" | |
Decision by | Dallet (with A. Bradley and Karofsky) |
Concurrence | R. Bradley |
Dissent | Roggensack (with Zieglerand Hagedorn) |
Wisconsin v. Kizer is a pending murder case in which the deceased's alleged sex trafficking of the defendant is being raised as an affirmative defense, for the first time in Wisconsin and possibly anywhere in the United States. Chrystul Kizer was arrested at age 17 for the murder of Randall Phillip Volar III. She alleged Volar was her sex trafficker. On June 5, 2018, she allegedly shot him twice while he was sitting in a chair, set his house on fire, then stole his car.[1] Kizer was arrested and incarcerated at Kenosha County Detention Facility to await trial.[2][3] Kenosha County prosecutors charged her with first degree intentional homicide using a dangerous weapon, and four other felonies.[2] They contend the killing was premeditated. If convicted, she would face a mandatory life sentence in prison.[2]
Kizer's lawyers argue that she was a child trafficking victim acting in self-defense against her sex trafficker.[1] Her case received attention in December 2019 after The Washington Post interviewed her, and after the George Floyd protests.[4] Community activists posted her $400,000 bond, and she was released in June 2020.[1] A trial date is not set.[5] Renewed interest in her case followed the Kyle Rittenhouse case (which also took place in Kenosha) where the defense claimed self-defense and the jury delivered a not guilty verdict.[6][7]
Background
In 2017 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Chrystul Kizer, a 16-year-old Black girl, met Randall P. Volar III, a 33-year-old white man, on Backpage.[8] Volar abused and trafficked Kizer and other underage Black girls.[9] In February 2018, a 15-year-old girl called police from Volar's home saying Volar had drugged her and was going to kill her; the girl was later found by police wandering the streets half-naked under the influence of LSD.[10] A subsequent search of Volar's home found evidence of child sex abuse, including hundreds of videotapes of Volar abusing Kizer and other underage Black girls. On February 22, Volar was arrested for child enticement, second-degree sexual assault of a child, and using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. He was released on the same day without bail. Police waited three months before submitting the case to prosecutors. Twelve days later, on June 5, while still free on bail, Volar was shot and killed.[3][11]
Court proceedings
Arrest and bail
In 2018, Kizer, then 17 years old, was arrested for Volar's murder and charged as an adult with first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a mandatory life sentence.[12] She was also charged with arson for setting fire to Volar's house, and with car theft for stealing Volar's car, among other charges.[13] Kizer was incarcerated and bail was originally set at $1 million.[14]
In February 2020, Judge Wilk lowered Kizer's bail to $400,000.[15] Kizer paid the bail with community donations raised by the Chicago Community Bond Fund, the Milwaukee Freedom Fund, Survived and Punished, and the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee, and was released on June 22, 2020 after spending nearly two years in jail.[16][17]
Affirmative defense
Kizer invoked a Wisconsin statute (Wis. Stat. § 939.46) that provides trafficking victims with "an affirmative defense for any offense committed as a direct result of" the trafficking.[18] The affirmative defense had never before been used in a violent crime case in Wisconsin or likely in any other US state with a similar law.[19][3]
Prosecutors argued that the affirmative defense did not apply,[20] and alleged that Kizer shot Volar not as a direct result of the trafficking but because she wanted to steal his car.[21] Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley told The New York Times that "permitting vigilante justice, which is the narrative from some seeking dismissal, is a highly subjective, slippery slope."[22]
In December 2019, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge David Wilk issued a ruling barring Kizer from raising the affirmative defense at trial because although the law used the specific words "any offense," applying it to violent crimes would be, in the court's words, "an absurd result."[23][3] The trial court's ruling would have prohibited Kizer from telling the jury about Volar's abuse and trafficking.[24] Kizer appealed.[25]
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals overturned the trial court in June 2021, holding that the trial court had erred in its interpretation of the affirmative defense law, that the affirmative defense applied to any offense, including violent crimes, committed as a "direct result" of trafficking, and that Kizer could present evidence in support of the affirmative defense at trial. The appellate court ruled on the correct interpretation of the affirmative defense statute but not on whether it applied in the specific circumstances of Kizer's case, which was remanded back to the trial court. Prosecutors appealed.[26]
In July 2022, the state supreme court upheld the appeals court's decision overturning the trial court's ruling that barred Kizer from raising the affirmative defense. In a 4-3 opinion, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the law provided trafficking victims with an affirmative defense to any offense, including violent crimes, committed as a direct result of the trafficking. The court defined "committed as a direct result" as a "logical, causal connection between the offense and trafficking such that the offense is not the result, in significant part, of other events, circumstances, or considerations apart of the trafficking violation." The court also held that the affirmative defense law was a "complete defense" to criminal liability, and not just a "mitigating defense" that would lower the first-degree murder charge to a second-degree murder charge. The court ruled that Kizer should be allowed to present evidence at trial that her actions were a direct result of being trafficked, and remanded the case back to the trial court.[27]
Post-appeal
In October 2023, the trial court ruled that Kizer's statements to the police were not admissible because she did not receive a Miranda warning and her attorney was not present during her questioning. As of October 31, 2023, no trial date has been scheduled.[28]
Analysis
Critics of Kizer's arrest argued that the criminal justice system frequently punishes trafficking victims such as Kizer.[2][29] Sex crimes expert Rachel Monaco-Wilcox stated that children of color are seen as willing participants in trafficking cases.[3]
Reactions
Kizer gave an interview to The Washington Post in December 2019.[3] The case received global attention following the George Floyd protests, which led to renewed interest in criminal justice reform and an influx of donations to organizations such as Chicago Community Bond Fund.[5][30]
Kizer's mother, Devore Taylor, formed the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee to organize around the case and to raise bail money.[5] Supporters wrote letters to Kizer.[2] Cyntoia Brown-Long wrote an op-ed that outlined the similarities between their cases.[2] Alyssa Milano and Tarana Burke were among those who circulated information about the case on social media.[31]
DA Graveley posted a Facebook response to a Change.org petition for Kizer's release that stated that he would not be swayed by the petition.[31] By September 2020, the petition had almost 1.5 million signatures.[32]
Since the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Kizer can raise the trafficking victim affirmative defense, the Free Chrystul Kizer campaign and other supporters have demanded that all charges against Kizer be dismissed.[33]
See also
- Marissa Alexander case
- Sara Kruzan
- Cyntoia Brown
- Adultification bias
- Battered woman syndrome
- Abuse defense
References
- ^ a b c Holcombe, Madeline (June 24, 2020). "A teenager accused of killing her alleged sex trafficker is released from jail on $400,000 bond". CNN. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Brooks, Ryan (June 23, 2020). "Chrystul Kizer, A 19-Year-Old Sex Trafficking Victim Who Killed Her Abuser, Has Been Released From Jail". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Contrera, Jessica (December 17, 2019). "He was sexually abusing underage girls. Then, police said, one of them killed him". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023.
- ^ Fortin, Jacey (June 23, 2020). "Chrystul Kizer, Teen Charged With Killing Sexual Abuser, Is Released on Bond". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c O'Connell, Oliver (June 23, 2020). "US trafficking victim leaves jail after two years as activists raise $400,000 bail". The Independent. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ Shivaram, Deepa (November 25, 2021). "Rittenhouse's defense renews focus on the case of a 17-year-old who killed her abuser". NPR. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
- ^ Branigin, Anne; Contrera, Jessica (November 24, 2021). "After Rittenhouse, protesters are asking: What about sex-trafficking victim Chrystul Kizer?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 3; Taylor 2023, p. 181; Weston 2022, p. 259; Banks 2021, pp. 346–347; Avalos 2020, p. 32
- ^ Spencer 2023, pp. 3 ("... Randall Volar, whom she first met at the age of sixteen as a result of child sex-trafficking (Contrera 2019; Branigin 2020; Contrera 2020; Fortin 2020; Smith 2020)."), 8 ("District Attorney Michael Graveley does not dispute that Volar committed felony sex crimes against Kizer and other teen and preteen Black girls."), and 10 ("Volar’s confirmed sexual violence ..."); Taylor 2023, p. 181, "... Randall P. Volar III, a thirty-four-year-old white man who had trafficked her since she was sixteen."; Rein 2022, p. 226, "... the man who allegedly purchased sex from her when she was a child-the man who allegedly sex trafficked her."; Siegel 2022, p. 30, "... she was a seventeen-year-old survivor of sex trafficking in Kenosha, Wisconsin ... thirty-four-year-old Randall Volar, a white man who the state of Wisconsin was also prosecuting for sex-trafficking and had sexually abused over ten underage girls, all of them Black."; Weston 2022, p. 259, "He abused her and about a dozen other underage Black girls, even filming portions of this abuse."; Banks 2021, p. 329, "... the man who had been trafficking her for a year."; Krell & Dhanoa 2021, "In Kenosha, Wisconsin, Chrystul, a teenage girl, was one of many children that were commercially sexually exploited by Randall Volar. Even when Chrystul didn’t want to have sex, Volar pinned her down and filmed raping her ... He drove her to motels and sold her for sex with other men."; Avalos 2020, p. 32, "Kizer was a sixteen-year-old African American who was groomed, sexually assaulted, and repeatedly sex trafficked by thirty-three-year-old Randy Volar. Although police soon learned that Volar, who was white, had similarly abused and trafficked about a dozen underage African American girls, they allowed him to remain free on bond and delayed bringing charges against him."; AP 2020, "District Attorney Michael Graveley said at Kizer’s most recent court appearance that there’s no doubt Volar sexually assaulted Kizer and other girls. Police have seized videotapes that show some of the assaults, according to court documents."
- ^ Weston 2022, p. 259.
- ^ Spencer 2023, pp. 3 and 8; Vafa & Epstein 2023, p. 11; Rein 2022, p. 226; Siegel 2022, p. 30; Banks 2021, p. 329; Krell & Dhanoa 2021; Avalos 2020, pp. 32–33; Fortin 2020
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 3; Taylor 2023, p. 181; Vafa & Epstein 2023, p. 11; Rein 2022, p. 226; Weston 2022, pp. 259–260; Banks 2021, pp. 329–330; Krell & Dhanoa 2021; Avalos 2020, pp. 32–33
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 3; Taylor 2023, p. 181; Siegel 2022, p. 30; Weston 2022, p. 260; Krell & Dhanoa 2021; Avalos 2020, p. 33
- ^ Spencer 2023.
- ^ Contrera, Jessica (February 7, 2020). "Judge reduces bond for Chrystul Kizer, teen charged with killing her alleged sex trafficker". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 3; Rein 2022, p. 226; Banks 2021, p. 330 n.3
- ^ Contrera, Jessica (June 23, 2020). "Chrystul Kizer, accused of killing her alleged sex trafficker, freed on bail after two years". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 3; Taylor 2023, p. 181; Siegel 2022, p. 30; Krell & Dhanoa 2021; Banks 2021, p. 330; Wis. Stat. § 939.46(lm) (2017), "A victim of a violation of s. 940.302 (2) [human trafficking] or 948.051 [child trafficking] has an affirmative defense for any offense committed as a direct result of the violation of s. 940.302 (2) or 948.051 without regard to whether anyone was prosecuted or convicted for the violation of s. 940.302 (2) or 948.051."
- ^ Banks 2021, p. 330 n. 5.
- ^ Taylor 2023, p. 181; Siegel 2022, p. 30
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 8; Taylor 2023, p. 181; Siegel 2022, p. 30; Avalos 2020, p. 33
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 8; Fortin 2020
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 3; Taylor 2023, p. 181; Banks 2021, p. 330; Krell & Dhanoa 2021
- ^ Taylor 2023, p. 181; Banks 2021, p. 330; Krell & Dhanoa 2021
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 3; Banks 2021, p. 330
- ^ Taylor 2023, p. 181; Krell & Dhanoa 2021; Banks 2021, p. 330; Wisconsin Supreme Court justice argues that Chrystul Kizer is a victim (video). The Washington Post. March 3, 2022.; State v. Kizer, 398 Wis.2d 697 (2021).
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 17 n. 9; Taylor 2023, p. 181; Vafa & Epstein 2023, p. 11; Siegel 2022, p. 41 n. 62; Weston 2022, p. 260; State v. Kizer, 403 Wis.2d 142 (2022).
- ^ "Video, transcripts of Wisconsin woman's police interview cannot be used at her trial, judge rules". Associated Press. October 31, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Taylor 2023, p. 181.
- ^ Fortini 2020.
- ^ a b Contrera, Jessica (December 31, 2019). "Activists, celebrities call for Chrystul Kizer's release in sex trafficking murder case". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 20, 2021.
- ^ Avalos 2020, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Spencer 2023, p. 17 n. 9.
Works cited
- Avalos, Lisa (September 1, 2020). "Reversing the Decriminalization of Sexual Violence". Nevada Law Journal. 21 (1): 1–60. (PDF)
- Banks, Brianna N. (2021). "The (De)Valuation of Black Women's Bodies". Harvard Journal of Law and Gender. 44: 329–363. (TWL)
- Krell, Maggy; Dhanoa, Sharan (October 20, 2021). "Creating a Just Response for Survivors of Trafficking". Criminal Justice. American Bar Association. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- Rein, Rachel (2022). "Suffering at the Margins: Applying Disability Critical Race Studies to Human Trafficking in the United States". Columbia Journal of Gender and Law: 183–256. doi:10.2139/ssrn.3925222. ISSN 1556-5068. (TWL)
- Siegel, Susanna (2022). "Vigilantism and Political Vision". Washington University Review of Philosophy (2): 1–42. Retrieved February 7, 2024. (PDF)
- Spencer, Ayanna De'Vante (December 6, 2023). "Solidarity with Chrystul Kizer: On Disparate Failures of Knowledge-Attribution and Survivors of Sexual Violence". Hypatia: 1–19. doi:10.1017/hyp.2023.83. ISSN 0887-5367. (TWL)
- Taylor, Nikki M. (July 13, 2023). Brooding over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women's Lethal Resistance. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-009-27684-9. (TWL)
- Weston, Madeline (2022). "Committing Crimes Kept Her Alive: United States v. Dingwall and the Criminalization of Domestic Violence Victims". Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender and Society. 37: 241–263. (TWL)
- Vafa, Yasmin; Epstein, Rebecca (April 2023). Criminalized Survivors: Today’s Abuse to Prison Pipeline for Girls (Report). Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown University Law Center. Retrieved February 7, 2024.(PDF)
- "Woman accused of killing abuser freed on bond after 2 years". Associated Press. June 23, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
Further reading
- Contrera, Jessica (April 10, 2023). "How sexually abused girls are still ending up in jails and prisons". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- Contrera, Jessica (July 8, 2022). "Sex trafficking victim Chrystul Kizer wins key Wisconsin court ruling". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- "Wisconsin court: Sex trafficking can be defense for homicide". AP News. July 6, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- Smith, Deneen (July 6, 2022). "Wisconsin Supreme Court allows sex trafficking defense in Chrystul Kizer case". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
- Contrera, Jessica (March 4, 2022). "Chrystul Kizer, the Wisconsin Supreme Court and a watershed sex-trafficking case". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- "Justices weigh if trafficking defense applies to homicide". AP News. March 1, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- "Should a sex trafficking defense apply in a homicide case?". AP News. February 27, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- Contrera, Jessica (September 20, 2021). "Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear case of Chrystul Kizer, sex trafficking victim accused of killing abuser". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- "Victim can raise special defense in trafficker's homicide". AP News. June 4, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- Contrera, Jessica (June 3, 2021). "Chrystul Kizer, sex trafficking victim accused of killing alleged abuser, wins appeal in Wisconsin". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- Contrera, Jessica; Berger, Susan (December 18, 2019). "Child sex abuse victim faces life in prison for killing wealthy white man who preyed on young black girls". The Independent. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
- Carroll, Leah (December 17, 2019). "Why Is Chrystul Kizer Facing Life In Prison For Killing Her Trafficker?". Refinery29. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
External links
- Defense committee—Official website
- ABC 30—Video: "Wisconsin teen faces life in prison for killing alleged sex trafficker"