UPDATE: Dec. 10, 10:05 p.m.: Daniel Holtzclaw has been found guilty on 18 of the 36 counts including first degree rape, with the jury recommending a total of 263 years in prison.
A jury began deliberating Monday in the trial of a White ex-Oklahoma City police officer accused of raping and sexually assaulting poor Black women, according to CNN.
The trial has received nationwide attention because of the brutal allegations against the former officer, Daniel Holtzclaw, and the all-White jury selected to seek justice for his 13 Black female victims. Many of the victims have criminal records and arrived to court in shackles and jumpsuits, while the man on trial wore a suit.
Holtzclaw faces 36 charges, including burglary, stalking, indecent exposure, sexual battery, forcible oral sodomy and rape, writes CNN:
The case started after one woman came forward and accused Holtzclaw of “sexual impropriety” during a traffic stop, Oklahoma City police Capt. Dexter Nelson told CNN last year. It snowballed from there.
The Oklahoman’s Kyle Schwab provided courtroom updates on Twitter, noted CNN:
Schwab reported that the defense sought to undermine the credibility of the accusers, while prosecutors argued that Holtzclaw intentionally targeted vulnerable women.
Ben Crump, president of the National Bar Association, visited the trial last month in a show of support for the victims, he told NewsOne. The victims appeared to be on trial more than the defendant, he noted.
SOURCE: CNN | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter
Ex-Oklahoma City Cop Daniel Holtzclaw Found Guilty Of Raping Black Female Inmates was originally published on newsone.com
