Bubbaworld

Update 5:

On 5/05/05, U.S. District Judge James H. Payne held a competency hearing for Holly and determined that he was in fact competent to stand trial. Holly had been sent to a San Diego prison medical unit for a month long mental evaluation. Holly’s trial was set to being on 6/06/05.

Update 6:

On the eve of the start of Holly’s trial, the judge decided to postpone the trial to consider defense motions to exclude witness whose testimony would reportedly state that former Latimer County Sheriff Melvin Holly took payoffs, kept moonshine in the jail and bragged about killing people. News media reports indicate that Holly’s attorney accuses prosecutors of using a strategy of overkill and multiple witnesses testifying to the same behavior.

News media reports also indicate that prosecutors have not yet filed a response and that Judge Payne hasn’t decided whether to allow the testimony.

Update 7:

On Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Melvin Holly’s trial began in U.S. District Court in Muskogee, OK. Holly faced a total of 15 counts, including several counts of sexual activity involving female inmates, unwanted sexual contact with three female employees and a staff member’s 16-year-old daughter, lying to the FBI and threatening to kill an inmate if she disclosed their relationship to investigators.

What follows is a brief summary of the most significant testimony:

During the prosecution’s case a woman who was an inmate in the Holly run jail testified that Holly had raped her and told her that no one would believe her if she reported it. She also testified that Holly told her that he would make sure she would never get out of jail alive if she reported the rape. She was followed to the witness stand by other female inmates and former jail employees that testified they were sexually abused by Holly.

A total of twenty-three witnesses including nine female inmate victims and three female victim employees were called by the government in the five-day trial. .

During the defense phase of the trial Melvin Holly took the witness stand and stated he couldn’t have sexually assaulted jail inmates and his employees because he is impotent.

Holly’s doctor, Gerald Rana, testified for the defense that the ex-lawman was taking medicine to treat diarrhea and high blood-pressure. Rana said that because of Holly’s medication, a 1998 gunshot wound and his age, he couldn’t see how the former sheriff could have sex.

Prosecutors questioned why in spite of Holly’s 102 doctor visits since 1998 there was no documentation that supports Holly’s contention before Rana included some in his file nine days after the FBI initially questioned Holly. Rana replied Holly more than once mentioned the problem to him ‘off the record’.

On Tuesday, August 16, 2005 after four hours of deliberation the jury returned its verdicts finding Holly guilty of 14 of the 15 counts with which he was charged. The only not-guilty verdict was on a count of touching a female inmate’s buttocks. Three of the felony counts of which Holly was found guilty could result in life sentences.

In regard to the trial and verdict U.S. Attorney Sheldon Sperling said:

We didn’t try the man he said he was; we prosecuted the predator he became.
For too long, the defendant wielded unrestrained authority over jailed female inmates and female employees.
The public trust, which each law enforcement officer swears to uphold, was fully vindicated by this important verdict.

Formal sentencing for former Latimer County Sheriff Melvin Holly is expected within 90 days. Dennis Holly said his father likely will appeal the jury’s decision.

Following the guilty verdicts Holly was returned to the Muskogee City/County Detention Facility were he has been held since his arrest last year. Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson said he planned to put Holly on a suicide watch.

Update 8:

On November 23, 2005 Melvin Holly was sentenced to twenty-five years in federal prison for sexually abusing and threatening county jail inmates. Media reports at the time of Holly’s sentencing quoted US Attorney Sheldon Sperling as indicating Holly was given the sentence with no chance for parole.

Days earlier, two of the women sexually abused by Holly settled their lawsuits with Latimer County. Rebecca Preston settled her lawsuit for $100,000 and Summer Hyslop settled for $85,000. Other lawsuits against the county for the former sheriff’s actions are pending.

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