On the night of February 4, 2013, Luke Wirkkala was violently attacked by a drunk, sexual predator in his own home while Luke’s family slept nearby.

Luke became a victim again at the hands of a justice system with an agenda – to convict Luke Wirkkala of murder at all costs. Regardless of evidence that clearly shows Luke was protecting his family and acting in self-defense on the night he fatally shot the man who had just attacked him.

In June 2014 Luke was tried and wrongly convicted in Deschutes County for the murder. In 2018, his conviction was overturned by the Oregon Court of Appeals. At this time Luke remains behind bars, awaiting a retrial.

Luke is a normal Oregon guy who, when in a horrific situation, defended himself and his young family and has been in prison since that awful night.

Luke Wirkkala, a journalist and Magna Cum Laude Graduate from Washington State University is widely considered to be a dependable, kind, and smart young man. Ask around the community he lived in and with the people he has interacted with throughout his life and you won’t find anyone with a bad word to say about Luke.

Those who know Luke well will tell you that he’s the person you want in your corner when you’re in trouble: a great mediator and someone with an uncanny ability to de-escalate situations. His friends, family, teachers, and colleagues say that Luke was never a fighter, nor aggressive, or violent. But when Luke witnessed an injustice, he intervened appropriately to protect those around him.

In 2013 Luke was called to do just that: protect his family and himself from a violent, drunk, sexually predator. But Luke and his wife Rachel didn’t know this about David when they invited him to the 2013 Super Bowl viewing at a local bar. Luke’s attacker was simply a recent acquaintance who Luke and Rachel showed kindness to. But that night, the man sexually assaulted and strangled an intoxicated Luke in his living room.

Rachel, her young son, and nephew were asleep in nearby bedrooms. Luke was woken during the violent sexual assault, to defend himself and his family from further attack, ran for his shot gun. He ejected a warning round, and told him to leave. The attacker then charged Luke. Luke fatally shot his attacker defending himself and his family.

The events can only be described as an act of self-defense. The kind of thing any of us hope we’ll never have to do but something any one of us would do to protect our family and ourselves. Like us, if you were put in a horrible situation like that, you would expect the justice system to recognize you acted in self-defense.

Luke could be your brother, your son, your partner. Luke’s story could be your story which is why we ask you to stand with us to fight to free Luke, because a sexual assault victim should not be in prison for defending themself.

Luke stood up to protect himself and his family against lethal force and is in jail awaiting a retrial, seeking justice and freedom.