He was found guilty on 18. “I came forward”, she said. “Thank you, sir, for not taking me to jail, ‘” J.L. testified, according to BuzzFeed. Moreover, the jury failed to convict in 18 of 36 charges, involving five of the 13 women- leading one to conclude that the defense convinced them that at least some of these Black women were of questionable character and veracity.
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The jury recommended a 30-year sentence on each of the rape counts, which Holtzclaw will face during his scheduled Jan 21 sentencing.
Holtzclaw, a college football star who joined law enforcement after a brief attempt at pursuing an NFL career, rocked back and forth, sobbing in his chair, as the verdicts were read. His emotional outburst prompted jail authorities to keep him on a 24-hour watch. This was an all-white, Jim Crow jury, and all prospective Black jurors were rejected. Holtzclaw is half-white, half-Japanese. Detectives connected her assault to a previously unsolved report, then discovered Holtzclaw’s pattern of sexual abuse. The victims in these cases were similar to Holtzclaw’s – juveniles, drug addicts, and women with criminal histories.
“We are satisfied with the jury’s decision and firmly believe justice was served”, the statement said.
Celebrities and other well-known public figures weren’t the only ones to sound off on what has come to be known as Black Twitter, with many other African-American users and organizations expressing their opinion on the verdict.
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.
“This is what we waited patiently for – knowing that the outcome would be this”, said Robin Leake, a supporter of the victims. Now, if we could get to a place were Holtzclaw’s modus operandi of using race, class and gender to systemically oppress vulnerable populations becomes unviable, then we have made real progress in the world. Inside the building’s enclosed porch, he told her he had to search her. “The odds were completely against it”.
Holtzclaw reportedly raped and sexually assaulted some of the women during traffic stops. The officer often threatened victims with arrest and violence if they did not cooperate.
During the trial, Adams pointed out that one accuser tested positive for PCP and marijuana before appearing on the stand; others had stories that changed during the course of the investigation. Holtzclaw was found guilty of 18 of the 36 counts.
“A rape case is always hard”.
Shandegreon “Sade” Hill told reporters that Holtzclaw pulled her over in December 2013, and she was later taken to a hospital on the other side of town. The very few who are tried in court can be portrayed as heroes, swaying juries. The Associated Press does not generally name victims of sexual assault. The AP’s yearlong probe revealed about 1,000 officers had lost their licenses for sex crimes or other sexual misconduct over a six-year period.
The mother of a teenager who accused an Oklahoma City police officer of raping her clapped a string of guilty verdicts was announced. “A lot of people have a hard time wrapping their head around the idea that they could ever do this”. “He did things to me that I didn’t think a police officer would do”. His lawyer attempted to poke holes in the accounts of the alleged victims by raising awareness of their criminal records and warrants.
“That’s not an accident”, he said.
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Holtzclaw’s targets were picked precisely because “they were black and poor”, the Daily Beast’s Goldie Taylor wrote Thursday.
