Last week, the nation got wind of former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw’s verdict after being charged with sexually assaulting 13 African-American women while on duty. Holtzclaw, a man of white and Asian heritage, would be found guilty on 18 of 36 counts, including four counts of first-degree rape.
On Friday [December 11, 2015] attorney Benjamin Crump said at a press conference, “It wasn’t a coincidence who he chose to violate…it was methodical and it was deliberate.”
Throughout the trial, prosecutors brought up Holtzclaw’s selection of women in low-income environments, using scare tactics to keep them quiet. His victims ranged from a 17-year old teenager to a 59-year old grandmother.
Initially, this story did not receive as much national attention as it deserved, leaving us to ask why a situation so devastating would go unnoticed by many.
“Why are they unworthy [of] national media attention in such a sensational situation as a serial rapist with a badge raping a dozen women?” Crump asked.
Cases such as these are no rarity, however. An investigation conducted by the Associated Press revealed within a six-year period, around 1000 police officers lost their badges due to sexual misconduct.
While Holtzclaw’s case did bring a pertinent topic to light, the failure to convict him on all 36 counts left 5 women without justice, and a lot more questions to be raised about our legal system.
