On April 5th, 2021, after 8 long years battling a wrongful conviction, Luke Wirkkala was acquitted of all charges.
Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty!
“Mr. Wirkkala, you’re free to go” – Judge Miller
Welcome home, Luke!!
On April 5th, 2021, after 8 long years battling a wrongful conviction, Luke Wirkkala was acquitted of all charges.
Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty!
“Mr. Wirkkala, you’re free to go” – Judge Miller
On April 5th, 2021, after more than 8 long years battling a wrongful conviction, Luke Wirkkala was acquitted of second-degree murder, manslaughter I and manslaughter II by an overwhelming 10-2 of the jurors of Deschutes County, Oregon. More details will be published to this website shortly
Many of you have already donated to Luke’s legal defense fund, for which he and his family are forever grateful. For those still able to show support during these uncertain times, we’re accepting donations on Luke’s behalf. While money will never make up for the pain and the years lost, we hope it will help ease the transition.
Link for donations: https://givebutter.com/aztGZR
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.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that more than half of male sexual assault victims reported being assaulted by an acquaintance. This was the case for Luke Wirkkala who had only recently met his attacker when he was assaulted.
“1 in 71 men in the United States have been raped at some time in their lives, including completed forced penetration, attempted forced penetration, or alcohol/drug facilitated completed penetration.”
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.
Share links to Luke’s story on social media among your friends and family because Luke has suffered injustice long enough and your voice helps.
A Change.org petition to Kate Brown the Oregon Governor has over 2300 signatures seeking Luke’s release from prison. Your voice and sharing the petition with your friends and family will help free Luke.
Our District Attorney is an elected official, representing us. If, like us, you feel strongly that Luke should be freed and returned to his family please contact the DA by phone, email, Twitter, or make an appointment.
Your donation to support our efforts to free Luke are hugely appreciated. The last 7 years have been incredibly stressful for Luke’s family. Your financial support will ensure Luke’s story is spread widely and, God willing, results in Luke being acquitted at retrial.