Chrystul Kizer was only 17 when she shot 34-year-old Randall Volar III, a man she said had trafficked and assaulted her for years. He was already wanted in Milwaukee for child pornography and statutory rape. As her case drew international attention in 2020, supporters raised $400,000 to pay her bail. Now, there’s an update.
In 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled a 2008 law could absolve Kizer since she’s a victim of sex trafficking. But in May, Kizer pled guilty to Volar’s murder. In August, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Her guilty plea had everything to do with survival, not guilt.
Taking a plea deal meant avoiding not just a trial, but a life sentence. Over 97% of federal and 94% of state felony convictions come from plea bargaining. The plea bargain was historically designed to exploit Black defendants’ fear by presenting them with a “lesser of two evils,” suggesting the inevitability of incarceration that shouldn’t even be on the table.
From Bresha Meadows and Cyntoia Brown to Chrystul Kizer and Pieper Lewis, Black women and girls are frequently punished for surviving sexual and domestic violence. It’s why resources like the “Survived and Punished” coalition are so badly needed.
A system that exploits survivors of abuse while their abusers walk free is not designed to keep us safe.