On Thursday, a district judge sentenced him to 263 years, in line with what jurors recommended. Holtzclaw, a former Oklahoma City police officer, was facing dozens of charges alleging he sexually assaulted 13 women while on duty.
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The request, filed Wednesday by attorney Scott Adams, seeks either a new trial or “an evidentiary hearing to determine whether discovery was withheld from the defense”.
Former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who was found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting multiple women while on his beat, was sentenced to 263 years in prison. The sentencing hearing was delayed for four hours as the judge listened to the defense’s motion to retry Holtzclaw.
Adams says despite the outcome of trial and sentencing, Holtzclaw maintains his innocence and plans to appeal.
Holtzclaw’s lawyer said prostitutes and drug abusers misconstrued his efforts to help, and that many came forward only after police said an investigation showed that they might be victims.
The jury heard from a number of other women who said Holtzclaw sexually assaulted them at their homes or in his police auto.
The Associated Press highlighted Holtzclaw’s case in an investigation of sexual misconduct by law officers.
In December, an Oklahoma City jury found Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, guilty on 18 of 36 charges of sexual assault, including rape.
A total of 13 women claimed Mr Holtzclaw had raped or assaulted them. “It’s been hard on me”, she told the court.
He raped one victim in her own bedroom after telling her: “This is better than the county (jail)”.
And T.B. said, “I didn’t think anything would be done. I feel like I’m dying on the inside”.
Thursday’s hearing also brought out Benjamin Crump – who’s representing some of Holtzclaw’s victims in a civil suit – as well as National Organization for Women president Terry O’Neill and African American Policy Forum co-founder Kimberlé Crenshaw. “I am in his custody because whatever he tells me in my mind I just did it. As far as I know I could wind up dead in the hospital saying I was overdosed”, Hill said. Three of Holtzclaw’s victims gave impact statements before the court, quoted here by Buzzfeed reporter Jessica Testa. In all cases, Holtzclaw abused his own authority as a police officer to take advantage of these women’s vulnerability in the situation and the shame they carried for their prior arrests or drug use. She was 17 at the time.
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After the verdict was announced in December, Holtzclaw sobbed in court and reportedly said, “I didn’t do it”, as he was led away. In states that do decertify officers, reporting requirements vary, but the AP’s findings suggest that sexual misconduct is among the most prevalent complaints against law officers.
