Opinion ID: 2084452
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Otis James

Text: On May 11, 1994, a woman awoke to find James lying on the floor next to her bed. He placed his hand over her mouth, motioned for her to be quiet, and began to fondle her. The woman screamed for her daughter, prompting James to flee, knocking over the woman's daughter as she entered the room. James left through the bathroom window. While investigating the burglary, police noticed that a window in an upstairs apartment was open. The police found an eighty-two-year-old female in the upstairs apartment lying on her bed stomach-down, nude below the waist. Her legs were spread apart and a gel had been spread over her vaginal and anal area. A chair had been pulled up to the bed next to the woman's exposed genitalia. It was determined that the woman had been sexually assaulted and was killed by asphyxia due to smothering and compression of the neck. James claims he was drunk and high when he committed the offense, and only intended to steal money or property to support his drug habit. He claims not to remember sexually assaulting the eighty-two-year-old woman or noticing that she was dead. Despite participating in several substance-abuse treatment programs, he abused alcohol and cocaine daily. James apparently started drinking at age five. James never met his father and his mother died in a car accident when he was eleven. After his mother's death, James and his two siblings were raised by different relatives. James dropped out of high school after tenth grade. He obtained a truck driving certificate but was unemployed at the time of the offense. He once attempted suicide, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with depression. At the time of the offense, James was twenty-eight years old and living with his sister. He had prior convictions for robbery, burglary, attempted burglary, theft, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and shoplifting. He was on parole when he committed the murder. James was arrested on September 29, 1995, for the attempted murder of another woman. He was identified as the culprit in the May burglary and murder through fingerprints and similarities between the May and September crimes. James was charged with two counts of burglary, felony murder, murder, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual contact. He pled guilty to felony murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with thirty years parole ineligibility.