A billboard was placed—and removed—in late November along Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City. The ad is for an upcoming documentary on a new conservative cable channel, CRTV, and features a picture of former police officer Daniel Holtzclaw with the question “What If He Didn’t Do It?”. Holtzclaw was convicted on 18 counts of rape and sexual assault in December of last year and sentenced to 263 years in prison this past January. The billboard outraged supporters of Holtzclaw’s victims, while it was welcomed by Holtzclaw’s defense team:
"He was a convicted rapist. He's not an accused rapist. He's convicted serial rapist, so I think it will bring up a lot of emotions," Grace Franklin [executive director of OKC Artists for Justice] told FOX 25. [...]
"Our concern is for the survivors and their families having to rehash this, having a media outlet give validity to the conspiracy theories, which didn't work in trial and they're not going to work on an appeal," Franklin said.
Brian Bates, an investigator for Holtzclaw's defense team, says he has no issue with the billboard. "If the billboard said Daniel Holtzclaw is innocent, Daniel Holtzclaw's accusers are liars I think people would have a right to be a little outraged," Bates said. [...]
Holtzclaw plans to appeal the jury verdict issued in January.
Bates claims there is DNA evidence that was found after the trial, and that evidence is being used in Holtzclaw's appeal. "Male DNA was also found in the exact same spot. It was not Daniels DNA and that was never presented to the jury for consideration," Bates said.
CRTV is touting itself as the “source for the most thought-provoking personalities and conservative ideas that are not available from traditional media outlets.” Its lineup boasts Mark Levin and Michelle Malkin, amongst others. In a statement on the removal of the Holtzclaw documentary billboard, Malkin stated:
“Oklahoma City's left-wing activists succeeded in getting our billboard taken down … Fortunately for people who care about truth and justice, these activists won't be able to censor our broadcasts about the Holtzclaw case.”
The documentary is slated to run in December.