My colleagues and I have been busy orienting new district court judges this week, so I haven’t paid much attention to events taking place outside the confines of the Knapp-Sanders building. But that hasn’t stopped the criminal news from coming. Here are the highlights: Former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw was convicted on Thursday of rape and other sexual assault charges arising from his victimization of eight women, most of whom he came in contact with through his work. The Associated Press reports on the trial and verdict here. Many of the women who alleged that Holtzclaw sexually assaulted them lived in the low-income, minority neighborhood that Holtzclaw patrolled. Several had criminal records and problems with drug abuse. The jury recommended that Holtzclaw serve 263 years in prison for his crimes. In related news, the AP recently reported on the results of its investigation of sexual misconduct by law enforcement officers in the United States. That investigation “uncovered about 1,000 officers who lost their badges in a six-year period for rape, sodomy and other sexual assault; sex crimes that included possession of child pornography; or sexual misconduct such as propositioning citizens or having consensual but prohibited on-duty intercourse.” The AP thinks those numbers are low, given that some states lack a system to decertify officers for misconduct. No Club Med in Durham. The News & Observer reports that the self-appointed Durham Jail Investigation Team is getting results. They’ve protested conditions in the jail, including an alleged lack of sanitation, adequate [...]
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