Prater said he’ll be asking the judge “to make sure that this defendant never sees the light of day”, by seeking to have his punishment run consecutively. Eric Holtzclaw, left, holds his wife, Kumiko Holtzclaw, right, as the verdicts are read in the trial of their son, Daniel Holtzclaw, in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2015.
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U.S. Census data show about 15 percent of Oklahoma City’s population is African-American.
Criticism lodged at the media from columnists and on social media complain of the stunning amount of national media silence on the case and place the blame squarely on society and media’s disregard for poor, black women.
The case began after one woman came forward and accused Holtzclaw of “sexual impropriety” during a traffic stop, Oklahoma City police Capt. Dexter Nelson told CNN a year ago. He says he’s proud of his detectives and local prosecutors, according to the Associated Press.
Holtzclaw, who committed his crimes over seven months in 2013 and 2014, wept in court as the trial came to a conclusion on Thursday.
But the jurors heard from 13 women, who said he had sexually victimised them.
He called the Holtzclaw case the ‘biggest rape case America hadn’t heard about’.
Some supporters of the victims sang “Happy Birthday” – Holtzclaw turned 29 Thursday – outside court after the verdicts were read, KFOR reported.
He was found guilty of four counts of first-degree rape, one count of second-degree rape, six counts of sexual battery, four counts of forcible oral sodomy and three counts of procuring lewd exhibition.
Grace Franklin, a co-founder of OKC Artists for Justice, says they are “pleased with the 18 counts that we received, we are not pleased with the 18 counts we did not receive”. “Who’s going to believe me?'” Her account launched the police investigation.
A WHITE police officer in the USA is facing a life sentence after being found guilty of raping several black women. He then stood over her and ordered her to perform oral sex.
The recent acquittal of a DE police officer who brutally kicked a kneeling, unarmed suspect in the face on camera is an example of this. A grandmother in her 50s, the woman said she was driving home after 2 a.m. when Holtzclaw pulled her over.
She testified that he asked if it was the first time she had ever had sex with a cop. Holtzclaw drove her home and walked her to her door, where he told her he had to search her. She said he grabbed her breasts, then pulled down her shorts before forcing them off and raping her.
Holtzclaw’s attorney focused heavily on whether accusers with drug histories and criminal records were credible. [Ed: He was convicted on five counts of rape and 13 counts of sexual assault.] It is worth noting that while the city population is almost 40 percent minority, the jury panel is all white. The jury recommended 263 years of prison time for the 29-year-old former college football player.
Shortly after the verdict was read, a press conference was announced with victims, lawyers and local activists, in front of the courthouse where Holtzclaw was tried and convicted.
The defense attorney declined to comment after the verdict.
A jury has convicted a former Oklahoma City police officer of first-degree rape related to allegations that he assaulted or victimized 13 women on his beat. Holtzclaw will be sentenced in January, and then spend the rest of his life in jail.
Franklin co-founded Oklahoma City Artists For Justice to help support Holtzclaw’s victims and organize rallies.
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The victims tend to be juveniles, drug addicts and women in custody.
