I previously wrote about the infamous case of Daniel Holtzclaw. He is an Oklahoma City Police Department officer who was accused of sexual assaulting several women while serving as a policeman. He was found guilty during his criminal trial and sentenced to two hundred thirty-six years in prison.
In my previous article, I discussed how commentator and author Michelle Malkin made a documentary that dared to ask the question, "what if he is innocent" and continues to write on the case. That program forced me to do my own research about the criminal investigation and the trial.
I will not rehash my original article, but after its publication, members of the Holtzclaw family reached out to me and provided me with further evidence of his innocence, specifically the DNA.
Is the DNA evidence reliable
If you watch television, shows like "CSI," "Blue Bloods," or "Law and Order," you would think that DNA is the gold standard when it comes to solving crimes. In some cases, organizations like the Innocence Project have been able to get the wrongly convicted out of prison based on DNA evidence. However, even the most ardent forensics investigators will admit that it is not always so black and white.
During the trial, investigators testified that DNA of one of the victims was found on the zipper of Holtzclaw's police uniform.
What they did not make known, was that it was consistent non-intimate indirect transfer. It also included a mix of DNA that was unidentifiable. In other words, it matches Holtzclaw's testimony that he reached into her purse to check for contraband. He could have later touched his pants to transfer the DNA.
One of the accusers, a known prostitute and drug abuser, claimed that Holtzclaw took her to her house where he sexually assaulted on her on a chair in her bedroom and later on her bed for about ten minutes.
Despite this testimony, a forensics examination of the chair yielded no DNA from Holtzclaw. There was DNA from two unknown males.
The detectives only checked the zipper of his pants for DNA. They did not find any of the alleged victims' fingerprints or DNA evidence of this #Crime on his complete uniform or in his squad car.
While the detectives involved claimed that the DNA proves his guilt, the interesting thing is they have a lack of forensics evidence in their investigations.
In this case, Holtzclaw voluntarily gave investigators his DNA without resistance. He also gave them his clothes and voluntarily allowed them to search his home. He cooperated fully expecting the DNA to exonerate him of these crimes. This proved not to be the case. Though the DNA evidence did offer exoneration, this evidence was never presented to the jury or to the court.
