At 2 AM, on June 18th, 2014, Daniel Holtzclaw finished up his shift as an Oklahoma City police officer and made his way home in his all black cruiser. He saw a car swerving and pulled over 57-year-old daycare provider Jannie Ligons. About 3 hours later, Ms Ligons would claim that Officer Holtzclaw forced her to perform oral sodomy through the fly of his uniform pants from the back seat of his squad car. Her mouth swab would come up empty for Daniel’s DNA, as would a search of his uniform for hers, but nonetheless, an investigation would be launched into Daniel Holtzclaw’s field contacts with at risk African American women, soliciting stories of sexual impropriety. 21 accusers made allegations, and a media circus ensued, bolstering a grim and growing narrative of law enforcement officers abusing their authority. 8 of those 21 claims were immediately dismissed by investigators, and they still moved forward with the 13 other questionable or otherwise ill-fitting claims. Through the misconstruing of DNA evidence, 8 of the remaining 13 allegations resulted in 18 convictions. Former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw is currently serving a 263 year sentence in an undisclosed correctional facility under an assumed name for crimes he did not commit.

Please listen to our coverage and find out more at: http://www.freedanielholtzclaw.com.

Sign the petition in support of Daniel’s freedom at: https://www.change.org/p/free-daniel-holtzclaw-an-innocent-man-wrongfully-convicted

https://www.wrongfulconvictionpodcast.com/with-jason-flom

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.