Lorenzo D. Watson was found guilty of aggravated rape on Sept. 11, 2019, in the 14th Judicial District Court in an 11-1 decision. Aggravated rape carries a mandatory life sentence without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
Watson represented himself in the proceedings.
Watson was accused of breaking into the victim’s home on Jan. 10, 1997, tying her hands behind her back and raping her at knife point.
Despite reporting the crime, the suspect in the attack remained unknown for more than 20 years.
Lake Charles Police officers were able to match DNA from a sexual assault kit used in the case to Watson in May of 2017.
“We are glad we were able to get this violent criminal permanently off the streets,” then-Assistant District Attorney Elliott Cassidy said. “It feels good to be able to give the victim justice after all these years. We are grateful to the jurors of Calcasieu Parish for their service and for making the right decision in this case.”
In his appeal, Watson argued his conviction was unconstitutional in light of the Ramos v. Louisiana case because it was not a unanimous verdict.
Ramos v. Louisiana was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled 6-3 that the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution requires guilty verdicts for criminal trials be unanimous. Only cases in Louisiana and Oregon were affected by the ruling because other states already had this requirement.
The 3rd Circuit agreed with Watson’s appeal, stating the Ramos v. Louisiana case was still being decided when Watson was sentenced and ordered he receive a new trial.
