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Complicated story keeps man in jail

Rudolph Holton could not prove he met conditions set by the state parole board.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published January 20, 2006

TAMPA - The Florida Supreme Court concluded three years ago that Rudolph Holton was wrongly convicted of raping and murdering a teenage prostitute, yet he is sitting in the Hillsborough County jail because of a parole condition typically imposed on sex offenders.

How Holton landed behind bars this time is a somewhat complicated story.

Holton, 52, was jailed Jan. 7 for violating the terms of his newly imposed parole, jail records show. The arrest came just hours after Holton's release from the Hardee Correctional Institute, where he served nearly 14 months for beating his wife with a golf club.

Holton was supposed to have served two years for the aggravated battery against Sandra Holton. But he was granted an early release on the condition that he remain temporarily under the supervision of the Florida Parole Commission, said commission spokeswoman Jane Tillman.

Tillman said the commission, in setting the provisions of his early release, decided to order that during the period of supervision Holton live 1,000 feet away from schools or other places where children gather.

The 1,000-foot rule is typically imposed on convicted sex offenders. With his rape conviction overturned, Holton has no sex offense on his record. But the parole commission "can impose any special conditions it deems warranted" for an inmate on early release, Tillman said.

Because Holton could not prove he had a place to live that met the 1,000-foot-rule, he was booked into the Orient Road Jail hours after his release from state prison, Tillman said. He has been there ever since.

Holton's criminal history dates back to 1979 and includes convictions for armed robbery, grand theft and burglary.

But he is best known for the more than 16 years he spent on death row for the 1986 rape and murder of a 17-year-old prostitute from Tampa. In 2003 the state Supreme Court threw out the conviction and, with prosecutors concluding they lacked the evidence for a retrial, Holton walked out a free man.

There was no physical evidence linking Holton to the murder. At trial, the prosecutor said a hair found in the victim's mouth had to be his; DNA tests later proved it was not.

The key witness was a jail inmate who testified that Holton admitted to him that he strangled a girl and set her ablaze. Years later, the witness recanted. Tillman said Thursday that Holton's death sentence "was overturned on a technicality. It doesn't change what happened."

The parole commission considered "the totality" of Holton's criminal record when deciding on the 1,000-foot rule, Tillman said, "including the aggravated battery on his wife."

"They just look at all of it and make the best decision they can make," Tillman said.

Sandra Holton could not be reached. Rudolph Holton declined an interview request.

This trip to jail won't last much longer for Holton. His supervision period ends Jan. 29.

After that, he'll be free to leave, Tillman said.

And he won't have to worry about the 1,000-foot rule.

[Last modified January 20, 2006, 01:46:11]