Former Oklahoma City Police Officer Convicted of Rape Requests New Trial Just Before Sentencing
Late on Wednesday, Daniel Holtzclaw, the former Oklahoma City police officer convicted in December of raping and sexually assaulting eight women while on duty, filed a request for a new trial, the Associated Press reports. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
The defense team is arguing that a Facebook post published subsequent to the jury’s verdict is new evidence in the case, KOCO.com reports. Court documents claim that the former police officer was denied a fair trial because “the government made deliberate discovery violations and misrepresentations, undermining confidence in the verdict.”
The request, filed by attorney Scott Adams, asks for either a new trial or an evidentiary hearing. Holtzclaw faces up to 263 years served consecutively.
Photo via AP Images. Contact the author of this post: brendan.oconnor@gawker.com.