Convicted Tulsa murderer seeking release after 43 years in prison: 'We are the victims, she is not'

A Tulsa woman who has been in prison for 43 years for the murder of her husband is asking a judge to release her based on the Survivors' Act, which was passed last year. She says she was a victim of domestic violence.

Her husband, Gilbert Lumpkin, was suffocated and beaten to death with a bat in 1981. Norma Lumpkin was convicted the next year and sentenced to life in prison.

Lumpkin was back in a Tulsa County courtroom Thursday morning for a resentencing hearing, where both her brother and daughter told the judge she needs to stay in prison.

Norma Lumpkin's attorneys say she was physically and mentally abused by her husband, which is why she killed him.

Prosecutors and the victim's family say there's no evidence of that, but there is evidence she took out a $200,000 life insurance policy on her husband the day before his murder.

The Oklahoma Survivor's Act:

The Survivor’s Act was passed into law in 2024, and it allows certain incarcerated survivors of abuse to petition for reduced sentences based on factors such as age or history of domestic violence. At age 75, Norma Lumpkin has filed for resentencing under this law and says she suffered years of physical and mental abuse by her husband.

Prosecutors and the Victim's Family Say There is No Evidence of Domestic Violence:

Families of both sides packed the courtroom Thursday, fighting again, to make sure she stays in prison. They say this process is torture.

"Why? Why do we have to do this? She was sentenced to life," said Gilbert's sister Linda Messenger. "We have been through a lot. We are the victims. She's not."

Tulsa County deputies found Gilbert's body in the back of Norma's car during a traffic stop in 1981. Prosecutors say Lumpkin took out a life insurance policy on her husband weeks before the murder, then doubled the amount the day before the murder.

Norma told her neighbor she planned to kill her husband, and the two of them drugged him, suffocated him, and beat him to death with a baseball bat. They say the victim had met with a divorce lawyer the day before he was killed, and had planned to sign the divorce papers the day he was killed.

"What she did was such a heinous, premeditated, planned it out so intricately, and executed it, and they almost got away with it," said Messenger. "It saddens me that they use someone like this to support for domestic violence and it belittles the men and women out there who have been true domestic violence victims."

Lumpkin's Attorneys Argue She Suffered Years of Abuse:

Lumpkin's attorneys say at her first trial, she was allowed to argue self-defense and several people testified they witnessed her being abused by her husband. The first trial ended in a mistrial, and those witnesses were not allowed to testify at the second trial.

Lumpkin's attorneys say she confided in her neighbor about the abuse, and the neighbor committed the murder.

They argue she was planning to leave her husband because she feared for her life.

What's Next?

The judge said she will have a decision on September 19th.

Lumpkin's attorney is asking the judge to reduce her sentence to 25 years and since she's served more than 40 already, she would be released.

We asked her attorney for a comment, but they declined.