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Court says Chrystul Kizer CAN USE sex trafficking defense against murder charge after she killed her rapist

Kizer was only 16 years old when Randall Phillip Volar III started sexually abusing her and filming his acts

Chrystul Kizer, a rape victim who killed her alleged assaulter, can finally use "an affirmative defense for any offence committed as a direct result" of trafficking after a historic ruling made by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 6. Kizer was only 16 years old when Randall Phillip Volar III, then 33, started sexually abusing her and filming his acts as part of his long history of creating child sexual abuse material. 

Kizer was just one of several Black minors who the affluent, suspected pedophile was exploiting, according to cops. When Kizer was 17 years old, she double-shot Volar in the head. After setting his body ablaze, she took off in his car. She was subsequently detained and accused of multiple offences, including first-degree murder and arson.

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The defendant, who is now 22 years old, has never denied the killing. Instead, she and her attorneys were engaged in a legal dispute with the district attorney over the interpretation of a state statute and its applicability to her case.

According to the recently passed law in Wisconsin, victims of human or child sex trafficking have "an affirmative defense for any offence committed as a direct result" of the trafficking, "regardless of whether anyone was prosecuted or convicted" for the underlying sex crime or crimes. The state's highest court decided in her favor on two separate issues by a vote of 4-3, allowing Kizer's case to proceed as a result.

A combination of three liberal justices and one conservative justice who broke ranks resolved the case in Kizer's favor. The other three conservative members of the court voted against Kizer. Although Wisconsin's judicial elections are nominally nonpartisan, campaigns are conducted with an understanding of a nominee's political stance.

Rebecca Dallet, a liberal judge, wrote the majority opinion. Although she disagreed with some of the statutory interpretation techniques utilised by the three liberal justices, conservative Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley supported the decision in large part and wrote a concurrence to state that she eventually agreed with the result.

Kizer will now have the chance to present her affirmative defense before a trial judge. Kizer has long aimed to be the first Wisconsin survivor of sex trafficking to use the statute as the foundation of her defense, and her case has gained fame among proponents of victims' rights.

The Washington Post was able to acquire a statement from Public Defender Colleen Marion on Wednesday in which she stated that Kizer "deserves a chance to present her defense and today's decision will allow her to do that. While the legal process on this matter is far from over, we, along with Chrystul and her family, believe the decision today affirms the legal rights provided by Wisconsin statute to victims of sex trafficking facing criminal charges."