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Texas jails: Fine-tune and fund, don't scrap
EDITORIAL BOARD
f you're north of, say, 25 years of age, you know this. But with campaign season approaching, we thought we'd remind you. The major things that government does education, transportation, everything are works in progress.
Always have been, always will be.
They defy solution. No matter how hard we try — and we must never stop trying — our schools, our roads, our everything will never be as good as we want them to be.
Criminal justice is in that category. As we swing back and forth between punishment, rehabilitation and some combination of the two, let's always keep in mind that some approaches will work better than some others, but crime has evidenced a certain staying power over the generations.
Back in 1993, faced with an ever-growing population of violent-offense inmates, Texas lawmakers — in an uncharacteristic flash of progressive thinking (albeit sparked by bottom-line cash concerns) — created a network of "state jails" with the dual purpose of offering lockups with treatment programs for nonviolent and first-time offenders (including drug offenders) while freeing up state prison space for violent offenders.
Darn good idea, many thought, including officials from other states who saw it as a model worthy of review.
Mull that for a moment: A Texas criminal justice system program that garnered national attention for something other than the number of people it executes.
But now, as lawmakers lay the groundwork for their 2011 session, some legislative leaders are working toward plans that could do away with or significantly change the state jails.
We're all for a comprehensive study of the state jails. As part of a criminal justice system that is part of a work that always will be in progress, the state jails are ripe for review.
A serious review might find need for fine-tuning and updating how the state jails are used. We can't, however, imagine that any such review would show cause to shut them down.
House Corrections Committee Chairman Jim McReynolds, D-Lufkin, told the American-Statesman's Mike Ward this week that "there very well may be interest in changing the current state jail system."
"The recidivism rates for state jail inmates are higher than for our regular prisons," said McReynolds, arguing it might be time to modify the model and that it's possible the jails "have outlived their usefulness."
But supporters of the system that houses 12,000 of the state's 155,000 convicts say scrapping the jails would be a step backward. Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, D-Houston, who wrote the state jail law, said the system has succeeded in diverting lower-level offenders and freeing up prison space for more violent offenders.
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley — who enjoys a reputation of a tough-on-crime prosecutor — agrees with Whitmire. It's time, Bradley believes, for Texas lawmakers to renew their commitment to the system.
That commitment must include cash. As Tony Fabelo, a criminal justice consultant who headed the Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council when the state jails opened, noted, state lawmakers have been whittling away for years at funding for treatment and education programs in the state jails.
Critics of the state jail system might have a point. The system might not be working as well as intended. We think we know why, and money has a lot to do with it.
We urge McReynolds and others to get to work on a top-to-bottom review of the state jails. We have no doubt they can find improvements that can be made. But scrapping the jails is not the answer.
Are they the be-all and end-all in criminal justice? No way; nothing is. But, properly tweaked and properly funded, they can be a valuable part of the perpetual work-in-progress battle against crime.
Texas jails: Fine-tune and fund, don't scrap
Editorial
Honest Justice
Published: June 8, 2009
The right to a fair hearing before an impartial judge, untainted by money or special interests, is at the heart of the nation’s justice system and the rule of law. That right is more secure following a 5-to-4 ruling on Monday by the United States Supreme Court.
The case involved some egregious ethical myopia on the part of Justice Brent Benjamin of the West Virginia Supreme Court. Justice Benjamin, who is now the state’s chief justice, twice cast the deciding vote to throw out a $50 million verdict against Massey Energy, one of the country’s biggest coal companies. He sat in judgment on the case even though Massey’s chief executive, Don Blankenship, spent an extraordinary $3 million to help Justice Benjamin get elected to the state’s top court.
In Monday’s decision, the majority correctly found that Justice Benjamin’s failure to recuse himself from a case involving his major campaign supporter — which John Grisham has cited as an inspiration for one of his legal thrillers — amounted to a Constitutional violation.
“Not every campaign contribution by a litigant or attorney creates a probability of bias that requires a judge’s recusal, but this is an exceptional case,” wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the majority opinion, which was joined by Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.
Justice Kennedy said that no “quid pro quo” connection has been established between Mr. Blankenship’s campaign spending, which far surpassed those of other donors in the judicial elections, and Justice Benjamin’s position in the lawsuit. Nevertheless, the “serious, objective risk of actual bias” required Justice Benjamin to recuse himself, and his failure to do so endangered the plaintiff’s due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, Justice Kennedy said.
In a dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts said he was concerned that the majority’s ruling will lead to an increase in allegations that judges are biased. We believe that risk is exaggerated. More important, this ruling comes at a moment when judicial neutrality and the appearance of neutrality is under a severe threat from big money state judicial campaigns and the special interest money that fuels them.
The majority’s recognition of the threat posed by outsize contributions amounts to a crucial statement that judges and justice are not for sale.
Indeed, the only truly alarming thing about Monday’s decision was that it was not unanimous. The case drew an unusual array of friend-of-court briefs from across the political spectrum, and such an extreme case about an ethical matter that should transcend ideology should have united all nine justices.
Chief Justice Roberts is fond of likening a judge’s role to that of a baseball umpire. It is hard to imagine that professional baseball or its fans would trust the fairness of an umpire who accepted $3 million from one of the teams.
A version of this article appeared in print on June 9, 2009, on page A26 of the New York edition.
Editorial
The Right to Counsel, Weakened
Published: May 29, 2009
In a troubling 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has significantly weakened the Sixth Amendment’s right to legal counsel. The decision came in the case of Jesse Montejo, a Louisiana man sentenced to death for murder based on incriminating statements that he made when the police questioned him without his lawyer present.
Mr. Montejo was read his rights to remain silent and the right to counsel and answered questions from the police. At his preliminary hearing, the judge ordered a public defender appointed, but the police continued to question him before the lawyer arrived. He agreed to show them where the murder weapon was thrown.
Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia argued essentially that since Mr. Montejo had been read his Miranda rights, his continued answers were a valid waiver of counsel. Justice Scalia explicitly revoked the court’s 1986 ruling in Michigan v. Jackson that a prisoner could waive his rights to counsel only in the presence of the lawyer, or by initiating contact with the police.
That ruling recognized that many prisoners cannot knowingly relinquish their right to counsel unless a lawyer helps them understand the protections they are giving up and the jeopardy they face. Without any real evidence, Justice Scalia dismissed this approach as unworkable and wrote that “its marginal benefits are dwarfed” by the possibility that the guilty might go free.
An array of former state and federal law enforcement officials and judges, including both Republican and Democratic appointees, have reached the opposite conclusion. In an amicus brief, they said that the Jackson ruling “has done far more to promote effective law enforcement than to undermine it” and warned that abandoning its bright-line standard would make it harder to ensure that a defendant’s constitutional rights are respected.
In an angry dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the 1986 opinion, which he wrote, was designed to ensure the right to counsel at every critical stage of prosecution. The court has now put the fairness, integrity and credibility of the justice system at unnecessary risk.
The Right to Counsel, Weakened
EDITORIAL
Compensation for unjust convictions in Texas
Timothy Cole Act would honor signature victim of wrongful conviction
who died in prison.
April 28, 2009
It's rightly being named the Timothy Cole Act. And if it's passed by
the Legislature, which it should be, it will be the influence of Cole
— who died a decade ago while in prison — that gave it the momentum
to become law.
Under the measure, compensation for people who were wrongfully
imprisoned would increase to a lump sum payment of $80,000 per year
of incarceration, up from the current $50,000. It would direct
payments to the next of kin in cases in which those who were
wrongfully jailed die before they were exonerated.
This is a good bill that the House passed last week. Now it's up to
the Texas Senate to follow suit, and the chances look good, according
to Senate sponsors, Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and Rodney Ellis, D-
Houston. The bill could come up for a vote this week.
The legislation is likely to require a constitutional amendment to
pardon the deceased Cole, who spent about 14 years in prison for a
crime he did not commit. The Cole case drew national attention
earlier this year, being called Texas' first posthumous DNA exoneration.
While a student at Texas Tech University in 1985, Cole was convicted
of raping fellow student Michele Mallin. Police zeroed in on Cole,
though he did not fit the profile of the person who had raped several
women in the Lubbock area. Mallin had identified him as her attacker
in a rigged lineup, underscoring problems with eyewitness
identification procedures. But this year she joined Cole's family in
seeking post-mortem exoneration for him after DNA evidence cleared
Cole and fingered another person, who ultimately confessed to the
crime. Tragically, it was too late for Cole, who died of asthma
behind bars while serving a 25-year sentence.
The legislation in his name would provide financial compensation to
Cole's mother, Ruby Session, who never gave up pursuing her son's
innocence. In addition to lump sum payments, the bill offers monthly
annuity payments for life, health insurance and 120 hours of tuition
courses at a community college or state university.
If that sounds expensive, consider that it could actually save the
state money by preventing lawsuits and avoiding large settlements and
legal fees. Those who are awarded benefits would forfeit their rights
to sue the state. And the legislation would not reward people who
were exonerated but went on to commit other crimes. They would not
qualify for benefits.
The best reason to pass the legislation is because it is the right
thing to do. No one can give back the time or erase the miseries
endured in prison. And Texas leads the nation in the number of
people, 38, who have been exonerated by DNA testing. Perhaps
attaching a cost to wrongful convictions will help improve the legal
system.
In any case, Texas owes compensation in the way of money and benefits
to those whose lives were unjustly disrupted and destroyed by guilty
verdicts and prison. That is the least we can do.
Find this article at: Compensation for unjust convictions in Texas
April 26, 2009
'Imprisoned by Stereotypes'
From Doc Berman
Inside Out, the online magazine of the Prison Fellowship, has this interesting cover story with the same title as the title of this post. Here is how it gets started:
When the average person conjures an image of a prisoner, what is pictured? Does the mind’s eye see a lone shadow with defiance and anger on his face and evil and ill-intent in his heart, prowling for trouble and poised to wreak violence? And who or what provides this image? Movies? The news media? Fear?
When three people from Texas look into the faces of prisoners, they see an opportunity for repentance, a prospect for a second chance, a vessel of potential. Their perception of prisoners is not based on sensationalized images from any screen, or on what they think it means to be a prisoner. Among them, they have more than three decades of experience in prison ministry. And while they, too, acknowledge that there are prisoners who live up to society’s stereotypes, there are also those who reduce such notions into myth.
Here's a brief description of the three Texas prison ministry volunteers profiled:
With 15 years of prison ministry experience, Lloyd Knapp points out that people inside prison and people outside of prison have at least one major similarity: the capability of making poor choices. The difference between prisoners and nonprisoners most often lies within circumstance. “There are those of us who commit crimes, and there are those of us who don’t get caught. Obviously most of us haven’t committed murder or done drugs, but we’ve done things that we regret or wish we hadn’t. Prisoners make mistakes, too, but they habitually make those mistakes. They’re not evil at heart; they’ve just been down that road so long, it’s difficult for them to change.”
Judy Indermuehle, a prison volunteer for more than nine years, agrees with Lloyd. In fact, she says that looking inside a prison is like looking into a large cultural mirror. “The prison population is a large mix of society,” says Judy, “same as we have outside. Prisoners are bad and evil, just like we are. We are capable of what they’ve done, and unless we are able to view ourselves that way, it would seem we are full of arrogance.”
Adelaide Biggs, a volunteer with more than nine years of experience inside prisons, echoes Judy’s tenacious sentiment. “We need to remember that we’re all sinners,” she says. “Jesus changes us. Most of the people I see have lived a horrible life and made terrible choices, but they know they can be different people through Christ. And isn’t that the Christian faith?”
All three volunteers agree: Prisoners are neither more nor less evil than those outside of prison. The main difference between the majority of the incarcerated and the majority of the free is not something inherent, so much as it is something acquired.
Posted by; Gritsforbreakfast
Labels: prison ministry, Religion and Politics
us vs Us
We as human beings make many separations in our philosophy, separations between people and animals, between people and people, between races, between cultures. Some separations are valid, some are less so, but we seem driven mentally to create them.
There has always been the 'us' versus 'not-us' paradigm, the us versus them rooted in early history when everything was a potential enemy or potential prey that was not part of our family.
We developed instinctive aversion responses to people who were different because of the potential for carried diseases, and many other things, creating the 'uncanny valley' of robotics, where a being that appears human if it gives improper responses is less human than a corpse.
There is a large amount of research involved in humanity, and the way we separate people from each other, from socioeconomic classes, to skin colors, to the injured, sick, and dying, to criminals. Perhaps the greatest, and easiest to understand separation is that of the criminal from the society... or is it? "Those people" are no less people, and save for the plea bargain or judgment of their peers would not be considered criminal. Without the laws themselves that ensnared them, they would not be considered criminals. It is an artificial barrier, created as much by politics, as by truth.
Often, we as people create such artificial barriers to control that which we cannot understand, and refuse to attempt to try. By labeling them criminals, we separate ourselves irrevocably from them, by making the label permanent. We don't have to care about them, we can dehumanize them. The truth is, we judge most harshly those who seem... most similar to ourselves, but separated by small things.
Like the Uncanny Valley, it is that very similarity, coupled with differences that causes us to reject.
It was a survival response, designed to fight plagues and problems from a distance, but it carries over into today. Our very psyche rejects that 'those people' could be like us, so we dehumanize them further, rationalize this dehumanization, and engage in their destruction, often because they... are too much like us, yet different.
Is this rational? Is it sane? We judge others by what we see within ourselves, and dehumanize and depersonalize them, to vent our own self-hatred upon them in the 'scapegoating' response.
This does not change our problems, but it provides a sociological 'relief valve' that seemingly offers catharsis until our own inner problems reassert themselves. For those most rejecting of others, most rejecting of differences, most rejecting of people, it says that they have many inner problems that they cannot face. This is not a judgment upon them, but a reality which is true within all of us.
The truth of the 'us versus them' paradigm is that it is untrue.
It is, and has always been... us versus us.
Executing Failure
by ACLU
Last night, I saw a grown man cry like a baby. He was kin to Kenneth Wayne Morris, executed by the State of Texas yesterday on his 38th birthday. I was on my way from a capital hearing near Dallas to Texas's death row in Livingston to visit clients. On my way I stopped in Huntsville, where Texas conducts its executions. I had two thoughts when I saw Morris's relative, crying in grief while standing among a crowd of people protesting Morris's death outside the walls of the Huntsville unit, the prison that contains Texas' death chamber.
ACLU's diary :: ::
My first thought was of a story renowned death-penalty lawyer Bryan Stevenson often tells, and my second was of a recent Pew Study concerning prison spending.
I have often heard Stevenson tell about the kind treatment experienced by a client on the day leading up to his execution. In sum, every hour or so, a guard or warden approached the client asking if he needed something: "What would you like for your breakfast today? What would you like for your lunch, dinner, dessert? Would you like to speak with the chaplain? Would you like a telephone call home? Would you like a room where you can meet in private with your family?"
In the hour before his execution, the client remarked:
"Mr. Stevenson, today people have offered to meet my every need. That has never happened to me before. No one asked if I needed anything when my father beat me as a child. No one asked if I needed anything when my family lost its home. No one asked if I needed anything something when my school placed me and other poor African-Americans in special education, even if we could have succeeded in regular classes with a little help. No one asked if I needed anything when I started to run with a gang because it was the only place I could find safety, protection, and acceptance. No one asked if I needed anything when my time in state prison taught me more violence, rather than a skill I could use when I got out."
As I stood outside the prison last night, I wondered not about how Morris, who is also African-American, was treated on the day of his execution, but about what happened in the years leading up to his capital crime. Stevenson's story is a familiar one to capital defense attorneys: we see the government pouring extraordinary resources into obtaining and carrying out death sentences after doing next to nothing to help our clients before they become occupants of death row. Not enough is done when they could have been helped or rehabilitated.
A study published by the Pew Center on the States helps to explain the lack of adequate help for our clients earlier in their lives. The study found that the growth in state prison spending, which has quadrupled in the last two decades, outpaces state budget growth in every area except Medicaid - including education, transportation, and public assistance. The study also found that one in 11, or 9.2 percent, of African-Americans are under state correctional control, compared with one in 45 whites, or 2.2 percent. Thus, money that could be used to help disadvantaged African-Americans in need is spent to imprison them. Notably, Morris spent time in state prison before his capital crime.
Ideally, society should encourage and help its people to realize their full God-given potential. At a minimum, it should help youngsters and their families when doing so could prevent them from turning to crime. When society fails in this regard, it simultaneously falls victim to crime and puts one of its own behind bars at state expense. And while prisons do have an appropriate role in incapacitating dangerous criminals, they are equally a place where, all too often, inmates who could be rehabilitated learn, instead, more violence and how to be a better criminal.
Because we fail so dramatically to devote resources to help young people in desperate need, we often end up paying far more later on.
We know Morris had the potential for rehabilitation and redemption: he issued a sincere apology to the victim's family in his final statement. His capital murder and the execution represent yet another failure of society to help someone who could have been helped as a youth, or rehabilitated in prison.
Tags: aclu, death penalty, execution, capital punishment
COMMENTARY
A Call To Redefine Texas Justice
By; Joyce King
Shocked at the number of Texas exonerations, a friend on the East
Coast asked me, "What's going on down there?"
It is widely known that my native state leads the nation in DNA
exonerations, and the county I've called home for 20 years — Dallas —
has had more than any single jurisdiction in America.
Nineteen men have been freed by DNA evidence in Dallas, and that's big news.
So is Craig Watkins, the Dallas district attorney who helped pave the way
for cooperative efforts between his Conviction Integrity Unit and the
Innocence Project of Texas.
As the only non-jurist on the executive board of directors for the
project, I am honored to struggle alongside lawyers like our founder
and chief counsel, Jeff Blackburn, a West Texas maverick who worked
tirelessly to prove that Timothy Cole was an innocent man.
Now that DNA evidence has posthumously exonerated Cole, he is the
first wrongfully convicted man in Texas to have his good name
restored to surviving family. Even the victim who mistakenly
identified Cole participated in rewinding the hands of justice.
I came to Austin to witness legal history and also to beg lawmakers
to work with us in making our state a national model of justice,
instead of the nation's image of injustice.
That's why Cole's story must not be an ending. It is a new beginning
as the Innocence Project of Texas seeks more partners to redefine
Texas justice.
Attorney Kevin Glasheen and I knocked on Dallas doors soliciting
support from elected officials to help the Innocence Project reach
our legislative goals. Glasheen represents 12 plaintiffs suing Dallas
for wrongful incarcerations.
If a proposed measure passes, it could possibly settle the lawsuits and avoid costly and lengthy future litigation potentially worth millions.
In Austin, we presented a humble case for justice, one I hope
lawmakers will not ignore. Our proposed innocence legislation includes:
Improving eyewitness identification procedures
Recording police interrogations
Better screening and corroboration for informant testimony
Improved access to post-conviction appeals based on discredited
forensic science
Improved compensation and expansion to include posthumous exonerations.
Currently, the state compensation is $50,000 for every year of
wrongful incarceration. But exonerees must be eligible and pardoned
by the governor to even apply. The money can then be taken in a lump
sum payment, which is exactly what Wiley Fountain did. Today, he is
exonerated and homeless.
Because compensation is taxed at nearly 40 percent, coupled with
legal fees and living expenses the men have, $50,000 dwindles
rapidly. Never mind what a life is worth and the real value of a
dollar in today's economy.
Firsthand exonerees have hell finding jobs and finding their place in
a faster-paced, higher-tech world than the one they knew 10, 15, 25
years earlier. No one will lease them apartments or hire them because
it takes an eternity to expunge records. There are a myriad of state
services to help convicted felons, including job training, health
benefits and housing assistance. Exonerees are not entitled to these
services because they are innocent. What an insult.
Long after overdue justice is delivered and smiling defendants with
their proud attorneys exit courtrooms, exonerated men face multiple
hurdles to avoid the fate that befall Wiley Fountain.
My job as an justice-loving volunteer is to ensure that exonerees
have the tools and skills to become productive members of society. If
they are to do better, Texas must do better.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was quoted some months back as saying "one
innocent man wrongly convicted and behind bars is one too many." I
look forward to having help from Dewhurst now that Cole makes 36 we've proved were innocent based on compelling DNA evidence.
Next time I speak to my East Coast friend about legal news in Texas,
I want to be able to proudly proclaim justice is going on "down
here." I just hope lawmakers are on the right side of the story.
Get more information on the project at ipoftexas.org.
Find this article at:
Convictions of the Mind, Heart, and Soul . . .
Congratulations in winning over the vote for the White House.
It was truly a wakening moment in history, to stop and consider the significance of your election, and inauguration into the Presidency of the United States of America.
May you continue to prosper in name and reputation, in your duties to execute the laws of the land. May your loyalties be with the people. Your decisions wise in nature, fair and unbiased as to race, culture, or economical status.
May you create a legacy that will live on and shine bright to guide those behind you, and lead America on a new path that few have dared to follow. Along the way you may encounter changes and dangers, but the acquisitions and benefits reaped, will by far excel them.
Stand firm and stay true to your word. These words are coming from within the confines of the Texas Prison Industry.
A system that has been the focus of much negative energy throughout the years.
The effects of this broken and dysfunctional system have had devastating impacts on the lives and consciousness of many people; considerably the non-white low-income people of the State.
The Texas Prison Industry is merely a by product and perfect example of a very intricate system of law that is destroying lives, families and the communities of this Nation.
While our government is focusing so much attention on wars being fought across the globe, and the treatment of prisoners of war -- it is neglecting a very crucial and serious dilemma right here on the Home Front.
The problems pertain not to prisoners of war, but regard the lives of American born citizens and the current state of deterioration that America is in. A human commodity is being produced by a systematic body of law. A commodity that is feeding a power hungry money making machine, known as the Criminal Justice and Prison Industry. Government is maintaining totalitarian control of targeted people and populace within America. Maintaining control through cruelty, cruelty that is only increasing with time.
Nationwide crime rates, prison populations and recidivism rates are valid proof that the current system is dysfunctional. Depending on what the goal and ultimate function of the system really is.
To continue to ignore and neglect these problems will only condone a further deterioration of the Nation and the crimes being committed against American Citizens. On behalf of and in alliance with those who are aware and want reform within the system.
I also take the liberty of speaking on behalf of the masses that are ignorant, or out of fear or discouragement refuse to speak on these issues. I come in a spirit of hope, indignation, suppressed and confined rage, and patient anticipation. Hope that all may enjoy Life, Liberty , and the Pursuit of Happiness in America.
May these words coming from within the bottom of the barrel, grab your attention, may they provoke actions to be taken that will shine light on the atrocities committed against Americans and bring exposure to what is being done in the dark by countless government officials.
Sincerely,
To President Barack Obama
The White House
22 January 2009
Dear President Obama,
First of all: congratulations with your inauguration as the new
president of the United States of America. We are happy for you and your family, we are happy for the people of the USA and we have a new hope for a better
future for rest of the world.
We are so much in need of peace, mutual respect and dignity for all
human beings, whatever their color is or their believes may be. We are so
much in need of a stable world, with equal chances and a fair justice system
for everyone.
You are the new president who embodies hope and change.
Though they are deprived of their civil rights and were not allowed to
vote, you are also the president of the 3300 Americans, men and women
in the death cells. They are deprived of their human dignity, sentenced to
death, considered not worth to live any longer. You made a point of
human dignity in your speeches. That's why I write you this letter. You know
that the death penalty is abolished in most of the civilized countries.
I hope you will bring the USA in line with other civilized countries and
stop the practice of the state killings, the practice of the cruel and
unusual punishment that Death Penalty is. There are other and more
decent ways to punish perpetrators of law. It's a matter of human dignity.
You are doing a great job in planning the closure of Quantanamo Bay. It
shows that human rights are a serious issue for you. I trust that you
will work for the abolition of the death penalty as well. Of course there is
much more to say about this item, but I guess you have so much work. I
will keep this short.
America needs a change. I ask you to make the change. Make the
difference; abolish the death penalty.
I wish you, your wife and your daughters all the best.
May God's blessings be upon you.
Respectfully yours,
Open letter to Mr Craig Watkins, Dallas District Attorney
January 16th, 2009
Dear Mr Watkins,
On November 5th, 2008 I contacted you regarding Robert Jean Hudson, who
was scheduled to be executed on November 20th. The nature of my letter was
to seek a stay for Mr Hudson on the grounds that his trial and appeals
process were far from adequate. Many people from all over the world
contacted you for the same reason. However, it appears that our pleas were
completely ignored. You did not even acknowledge receipt of my certified
mail to you nor did you take the time to let me know whether your
administration had reviewed Robert's case or not.
Robert Hudson was needlessly executed, apparently without any
consideration for his life or for our fight to save him, leaving me
despairing and his daughter fatherless, not to mention taking away the
life long friend of many people - a friend who everyone knew had done his
upmost to gain mercy through his remarkable efforts regarding personal
self development.
You have always described yourself as being "deeply conflicted about the
death penaly". It would appear that the compassionate justice you were
seeking went a.w.o.l when you had the opportunity to excersize your
"empathetic" ways.
I'm not doubting that when you came into office you were concerned about
innocent and re-formed people being executed, and judging by your
allocation of personal time to the victims of Mr Sparks (who has recently
been sentenced to death at your demand and with your intervention) , you do
have empathy for innocent people in general. However, and this is the
difference between you and a person with "real" compassion and a desire
for justice: you allow your political position to rule over your heart by
applying compassion as a commodity to exchange with your seniors for a
longer term, rather than standing tall and using it as god given virtue to
benefit all... But what happened to Robin, Mr Hudson's daughter, and I
being comforted by you after our loved one was executed without any
consideration for our loss and after being ignored by you in such critical
moments? Do you not class us as innocent human beings? If this is the case
I'd like you to clarify what we ever did wrong for you to ignore us like
you did or not want to comfort us through our loss. I think the reason
quite obvious - you made the conscious choice not to do so to remain
"respected" by the mob you depend upon for re-instatement. This was
politically motivated.
Anyway, I hope you have a great new year spending time with your family,
after forgetting about the ones you have left behind in the pursuit of
developing your political status by ruining the lives of other good human
beings without mercy or consideration.
Happy New Year Mr Texan of the year!
The Texas Prison Circus and the European Death Row Connection
November 13, 2008
It had been a long time since we had seen the prison circus in town in Texas, orchestrated by a popular Senator then relayed and amplified by the local media. And for once I am taking side with the TDCJ. For those who have not watched the Senate hearing held on October 21st, 2008 and the second hearing held today, you must watch them carefully to appreciate the extent and the depth of this political masquerade. You can find them here (1).
And now a respected national media outlet, ABC News, joins in the local propaganda with an article entitled: “Death Row Wireless Crime Spree Probed, that you can read here (2).
The factual errors or omissions of Senator Whitmire’s show on October 21st were reported and addressed in detail in the Hell Hole News by Hank Skinner, so I won’t revisit those issues but I will add a couple of things.
Firstly, during the Oct 21st hearing, Major Smith from the Polunsky Unit insisted that death row prisoners have financial resources. Personally I have yet to meet or see a rich prisoner on death row. Few of them have supporters in the United-States and overseas who are assisting them to raise funds to pay investigators, experts and attorneys in the hope of bringing the truth in the open as the number of capital cases railroaded by the Texas system is beyond belief. The majority of them has no support at all, not a penny to buy a single item from the commissary. This is a very inaccurate and misleading statement.
Secondly, regarding Mr. Whitmire’s advice to prison officials not to worry about breaking the law (“just do it and see what happens”) and to talk to Greg Abbott (the current Attorney General in Texas) instead of relying on “some TDC lawyers” to jam cell phone signals despite the legal requirement to obtain the authorization from the FCC and to implement systemic pat searches of all employees and visitors although the US Supreme Court has ruled clearly against such methods (pat searches can only be enforced if an “individualized suspicion” or “probable cause” exists), it is indeed impressive and revealing to discover how a legislator, no less than the chair of the criminal justice committee at the Senate, publicly disregards the law he was elected to enforce.
And the second hearing held today further demonstrated the purpose of such “political commitment”. How convenient is it to have, once again, the Austin American Statesman releasing a story about Tabler’s threat letters just on the very day of this new hearing?
If nothing else, this further proves, if need be, that Tabler is seriously mentally deficient. A man calling a reporter and a Senator from death row, expecting assistance from them, who then gets caught, ends up getting angry at them?
A sane person would not have expected anything different, in fact a sane person would never have considered making such calls in the first place. To make him look "dangerous" in the eyes of the public is plain ridiculous. Mike Ward should move to Senator Whitmire's office where he belongs as he has demonstrated nothing but biased reporting and no journalistic impartiality on this particular issue.
The whole thing is a pathetic political posture, pointing the finger at prison officials, who are professionals, to give them a public spanking and treat them like incompetent teenagers. Mr. Whitmire seems to believe that a prison can be run like an office, when he couldn't be further away from reality. Prison management deals with theoretical aspects for a small part but for the most part it rests with human beings confined within a number of legal parameters and with a shortage of underpaid correctional officers, so unqualified and inexperienced that it’s not funny.
The current conditions on death row are THE major security threat. The isolation, the sensory deprivation and the idleness are the main factors that will drive ANY human being – criminal or not - to psychosis and insanity. Mr. Whitmire’s refusal to look at the documented evidence and to act accordingly, simply because he was “inconvenienced” and he is angry about it, says a lot about his true motivation where prison security and public safety are concerned.
By definition a hearing is, as per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: a: an opportunity to be heard, to present one's side of a case, or to be generally known or appreciated b (1): a listening to arguments (2): a preliminary examination in criminal procedure c: a session (as of a legislative committee) in which testimony is taken from witnesses.
Evidently Senator Whitmire loves the sound of his own voice but he would be well advised to listen to those testimonies rather than continue to flatter his ego at the taxpayers’ expense. After two hearings on prison issues, what exactly has been achieved to address the problems, besides increasing the pressure on prison officials and gloating in the political arena? We will undoubtedly find out in the short and long term, but this attempt to turn prison officials into political lackeys certainly is not the answer.
To conclude about this circus, it is a perfect demonstration of how politicians in Texas demonize death row prisoners, the prison population overall and capital punishment at the taxpayers’ expense only to serve their own agenda. If it is nothing new, it is however alarming that not one journalist has so far felt compelled to expose the facts and publish an impartial review.
On to the “European Connection” and ABC News, as always with the US media one has no possibility of getting a response published, so here is my response to this piece of yellow journalism.
Firstly it is interesting, even intriguing, that a national media came up with this topic on its own when absolutely nothing, in the numerous and recent articles published about security problems in Texas prisons, ever mentioned European support for death row. For argument’s sake, let’s assume the editor had an epiphany and came up with it on his own.
Those of us who were interviewed were not told about the topic of the article, but we were misled to talk about the meaning of European support for death row prisoners in Texas. I must apologize to the friends I naively or stupidly dragged into this. At first I thought it was going to be another piece of trash journalism about European women seeking romance on death row, like the one written by the Dallas Morning News a few months ago. But I was assured by Tracey Gudwin that it was not what they wanted to write about, and indeed it was not. She was truthful at least on that point. The journalist showed little or no interest in discussing the conditions on death row, the isolation or the justice system in Texas although there is ample documented and compelling information for journalists to write about.
You can imagine our shock when the piece was published. Indeed it was yet another piece of trash journalism but of a different kind this time.
Beside the fact that our quotes were truncated and published totally out of the original context, the story fails to explain that when funds are sent to a prisoner’s account, those accounts are managed by the TDCJ Inmate Trust Fund and there is no way an outsider can control the funds or be held responsible for their use, no more than the prisoners who can only use them to make purchases from the commissary. To imply otherwise is not only incorrect but also totally biased. Then to insinuate that European Defense Funds set up for death row prisoners are used to allow those prisoners to indulge in some criminal activities is absolutely unsubstantiated and very misleading for the public, which for the most part has little knowledge or understanding of prison life, prison rules and procedures or the extent of the endemic corruption in the legal system financed with its tax dollars.
As if the ongoing political propaganda demonizing death row was not enough, now death row supporters, who are being retaliated against by prison officials at the Polunsky unit on a regular basis, are also being demonized in the media. No need to say that many of us will not be talking to the US media again anytime soon as they have little to do with professional journalism but are willingly taking a substantial and active part in the piteous world of disinformation.
In any case, the European fight against capital punishment and support for death row prisoners are not about to end anytime soon. We cannot and will not accept to be the hostages of illegal retaliation prison policies used to break prisoners or to blackmail them to submission.
None of this has to do with public safety, but all to do with postures and egos in the political mainstream; it is simply outrageous.
Written By; Sandrine Ageorges
(1) Click on the date of the hearing you want to watch
(2) ABC News/The Law
Editorial: Breach of prison security
October 22, 2008
No one should have to encounter a dangerous felon already imprisoned
for the public's safety. Yet a death row inmate used a contraband
cellphone to harass no less than the dean of the state Senate.
If it could happen to Houston's Sen. John Whitmire, it could happen
to anyone – maybe the police officer who put the criminal behind
bars, maybe the very victim of the original crime.
The Whitmire case was not an isolated one, lawmakers learned this
week in a special hearing. This particular phone made 2,800 calls in
a month, and officials have investigated 700 seized phones or parts
this year – an intolerable security breach.
Gov. Rick Perry made the right move in ordering a lockdown and search
of the state's mammoth, 156,000-inmate system. Prisons cannot
resemble sieves through which guards, visitors and vendors pass
unchecked, free to fuel a black market in phones and drugs. Citizens
rightly expect better.
Beyond those immediate steps, lawmakers must deal with underlying
reasons for prison vulnerability.
Only a fifth of the units have metal detectors, an unacceptable
deficiency. If the prison agency has unspent money for critical
technology, including cameras, that equipment must be acquired. If
need be, the Legislature should free up new money on an expedited basis.
State leaders also have known for months that the system is stressed
by chronic understaffing; about 3,000 guard slots are unfilled in 112
prison units. The shortage has forced the shutdown of entire prison
wings this year, a symptom of a wider problem.
The pay scale for corrections officers is one reason – one that
lawmakers must address. The pool of applicants simply must be bigger,
especially to attract quality personnel to remote prisons. Today's
starting salary of $25,400 a year isn't doing the trick for a
dangerous job.
Relieving pressure on prisons can also be achieved through treatment
and diversion programs for low-risk drug and alcohol offenders. This
has been one focus of Rep. Jerry Madden of Plano, chairman of the
House Corrections Committee, and one that should continue.
National Alliance For Prisoners Rights (NAFPR)
(NAFPR) is a Network of Coalitions networking with coalitions nationwide.
(NAFPR) involves advocates, activist, former prisoners, families of prisoners, compassionate allies
(NAFPR) has come together in unity to demand changes for resolutions
National Alliance For Prisoners Rights will be sending out the letter below, to Legislators, in every state~~
We would be honored, to have your endorsements~
Thank You in Advance~~
Please reply to Alexis
The Letter we will be sending is below,
~~In Solidarity~~
Honorable; ____________
We are writing you as members of National Alliance for Prisoners' Rights (NAFPR), a newly formed, grassroots advocacy organization whose work is informed by decades of collective experience of prison conditions and efforts to apply universal covenants and treaties to the treatment of incarcerated peoples. We seek your help in investigating and correcting serious abuses which are occurring right here in America, in our own prisons. You have demonstrated a concern for social justice for all citizens and we thank you for your efforts and ask for your help in attaining prisoner's rights.
The problems of the correctional system in the United States have become very serious.
It is a failing system.
The United States now incarcerates 1 out of every 100 adults in the country.
This is 700 times the rate of imprisonment that existed in South Africa during the height of apartheid. In 2004 the United States surpassed Russia in incarceration rates to become the world leader. With 5% of the world's population and more than 25% of the world's prisoners, there are now more than 2.3 million people inside and upwards of 7 million either on parole, probation or waiting trial.
One in every 33 people in the United States is under state control and that number is still growing. We cannot build our way out of this predicament.
The economic burden on the society of such levels of incarceration is huge and the potential of these members of society who are incarcerated is wasted. Over the course of a year 13.5 million people spend time in jail or prison, and 95 percent of them eventually return to our communities. Many of those who are incarcerated come from and return to poor African-American and Latino neighborhoods, and the impact on the stability of those communities has an effect on the health and safety of whole cities and states.
Crime, police and prisons have become one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy and there is pressure to maintain a level of occupancy. There are nearly 5,000 adult prisons and jails in the United States.
Approximately 750,000 men and women work in U.S. Correctional facilities as line officers or other staff. Economically deprived areas of the country are confronted with growing pressure to accept the construction of a new facility in their area in order to provide jobs, creating a vicious cycle.
We acknowledge here the enormous role that racism; classicism, poverty, lack of education, and diagnosed medical and mental illness play in mass incarceration.
Many individuals with diagnosed medical and mental conditions are inappropriately incarcerated. Most of the imprisoned in the United States are poor, and they are disproportionately African-American and Latino.
Individuals with diagnosed mental conditions could be better.
By themselves our high rate of imprisonment and disproportionate distribution profoundly compromise our commitment to the democratic ideals of liberty and equality.
But there is more.
There is serious abuse taking place in our prisons, even leading to fatality and suicide.
The Commission of Safety and Abuse in America's Crime Police & Prisons, in its recently released findings, reports high rates of disease and illness among prisoners, the increasing use of counter-productive high-security segregation, and other serious problems.
In addition, in recent years there has been a growing trend toward privatization of correctional facilities, with the associated focus on profits, increased rate of violence and with the result of many charges of lowered standards. The shift to corrections as an industry as a business rather than a service of governmental institutions, results in the inevitable push to create more and more prisons and prisoners.
Treatment of prisoners tends to decline and abuse of prisoners to increase. In spite of assurances to the contrary, evidence of this continues to mount.
As the Commission noted, some of the people confined in our jails and prisons have committed serious and violent crimes. While we as a society might legitimately imprison them, we cannot allow anyone who is incarcerated to be victimized by other prisoners, abused by officers, or neglected by doctors.
As a nation, we are asked to broaden our scope of analysis and compassion to include people who have done terrible things.
But we are also called to live up to democratic principles and to assess whether our criminal justice system is operating according to these standards.
Is it just?
Does it uphold human rights?
We seek a criminal justice system that is driven by hope, fairness, and rehabilitation rather than fear, arbitrariness, and cynicism.
We are asking for your help with the following points:
1) Immediate adherence to International Covenants and Treaties which correlate to prisoner issues and conditions, including but not limited to the United Nation Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR); the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR); the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD); the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against women (CEDAQ) and the Convention of the Rights of the Child.
2) Protection of prisoners from physical and psychological abuse by other prisoners, as well as by prison staff. Guarantee of community standards of medical care. Uniform standards for prison conditions, which adhere to, the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, adopted in 1948.
3) Rehabilitation and educational programs, since it has been established that education reduces crime.
4) Parole reform and other measures to reduce recidivism. The United States has the highest rate of recidivism.
5) Immediate, comprehensive and independent investigation of reported abuses by independent third parties entities which include prisoner rights advocates and family members. Access to prisoners by friends and families.
6) Legislation mandating equal requirements in hiring, salaries, and conditions for federal prisons, whether governmental or private and eventual elimination of prisons for profits. Mandated random drug screening for prison staff.
7) End to arbitrary arrests and excessive sentencing, which serve the sole purpose to populate prisons. End to arbitrary and excessive sentencing of children as adults.
8) Reform of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) so that the prisoners and their families are guaranteed lawful protection from physical and medical abuse and neglect.
For years many of us have worked to obtain results through our state correctional agencies, by campaigns, public actions, petitions, letters and calls, and have seen that work ignored, dismissed or trivialized.
We believe that you will hear our voices and that you care about true justice.
We urge you to conduct investigations and to pass legislation to correct the problems within our justice system.
Please reply to our appeal.
Respectfully,
Sept. 25, 2008
As you know The Second Chance Act was signed into law
That was the first step.
The second step is to get funding for implementation of the legislation.
Below is a sign on letter which will be sent to key congressional leaders urging funding for the Second Chance Act as Congress enacts this week a continuing resolution for funding for the coming months.
We may want to use the letter further down the road as well.
Please sign on if you can and if you know others who might sign please reach out to them.
This will be a sign on letter for organizations, not individuals or individuals representing organizations.
Thanks.
Date, 2008
Dear {},
As Congress considers a continuing resolution for FY 2009 appropriations, we ask that you protect funding for the Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199). As a new authorization just signed into law in April 2008, the program is at risk of wasting one of its two critical years of authorization without funding next year.
If a CR for the whole of FY 2009 occurs, we ask that you repurpose the existing offender reentry funding for the Second Chance Act. The 2008 Omnibus included $10 million for an offender re-entry program, which was used for the third and final year of funding for the Prisoner Reentry Initiative (PRI) administered by the Department of Justice. Since PRI has expired, there are many benefits to repurposing this allocation for the Second Chance Act. Chief among these benefits are:
·It creates grants for state and local governments, including cities, counties and tribes (sec 101). PRI funds state grantees only, which neglects the resources needed to help cities and counties address the 9 million people cycling in and out of our jails each year.
·Funds are available for nonprofit organizations (sec. 211) to provide mentoring and other transitional services. With this funding stream, DOJ will be able to provide grants for the first time to community organizations providing reentry services.
·Though many grants to nonprofits have been awarded through federal agencies for employment-based programs, the mentoring grants provision (sec. 211) includes employment services as well as other critical areas like mentoring, housing, substance abuse and mental health treatment and services for children and families.
·The Second Chance Act establishes a national reentry resource center to collect and disseminate best practices and to provide training on and support for reentry efforts. This resource is in high demand at the state, local and community levels.
·The Second Chance Act also tracks performance, where each grantee must develop a comprehensive strategic reentry plan that contains annual and 5-year performance outcomes.
·SCA grants include a 50 percent match by grantees, which will help ensure sustainability of funded initiatives.
·The Second Chance Act represents unprecedented, bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress in its passage and is supported by a broad spectrum of leaders representing the diverse fields including law enforcement, corrections, courts, and behavioral health providers.
Four years of Congressional work and collaboration went into the passage of the bill and its implementation without delay is critical to the health and safety of our country.
Please specify PL 110-199 in the CR to direct these dollars to the Second Chance Act in 2009.
Through the Second Chance Act, we have an immense opportunity to make smart, common sense approaches to help individuals released from prisons and jails succeed in the community and to improve public safety in the process. Sincerely,
Capital punishment is heaven sent
(Re: Aug. 14, 2008 Letter to the editor, What would Jesus do about death
penalty?, by Jaci Lasiter.)
Lasiter believes the best system in the world is Jesus' system. What does that mean? The last time I checked, Jesus was not running our state legal system, he was not in charge of our correctional system and, most importantly, he was not the one who had his daughters raped, tortured and murdered.
The death penalty is not for the condemned, it is for surviving families,
for their closure and for a sense of justice.
If you want to quote Scripture, how about "God is a vengeful God" or "an
eye for an eye" among others that promote the idea of punishment that fits the offense.
The only flaw in our system regarding the death penalty is that they
remain on death row as long as they do. After the last appeal is done,
they should be put to death within 48 hours.
Appeals should be limited to one and that should occur within the 1st year after a guilty verdict.
If you don't want to be put to death, don't commit the crime.
Rusty Lamar----Amarillo
Comments on this story...
Posted by: tpns at Aug. 18, 2008
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Post your own comment HERE
(source: Letter to the Editor, Amarillo Globe-News)
Editorial: Court's integrity proposal
June 8, 2008
The weaknesses of Texas' much-maligned criminal justice system will
be getting an examination from the very court that has endured – and
deserved – much of the maligning: the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The court was right last week to announce its own "integrity unit."
Breakdowns in justice have been documented at an embarrassing level
in Texas, highlighted by Dallas County's nation-leading parade of 17
DNA exonerations. One appeals court judge, Barbara Hervey, was on
hand in the state Capitol last month to hear heart-rending stories
from nine former state prisoners who proved their innocence after
years behind bars.
Failures in justice were many, resulting from faulty witness
identification, shoddy or bogus crime forensics, prosecutorial
misconduct and weak legal representation. The list goes on – so much
so that Judge Hervey said last week that it's "time to act and move
for reform."
Of course it is, and Texans who care about justice should appreciate
Judge Hervey's leadership. The experts she has assembled – including
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins – are capable of
analyzing problems and suggesting solutions.
Lasting reform, though, requires legislative action, and that's why
an effort by Sen. Rodney Ellis should continue to muster political
support. Mr. Ellis, a Houston Democrat who organized the Capitol
conference, wants to create an innocence commission that could help
set criminal justice standards by re-examining wrongful convictions.
The appeals court, meanwhile, regains some credibility in stopping an
execution last week to examine an appeal of Texas' lethal injection
procedure. The court made a mockery of justice in September when
Presiding Judge Sharon Keller issued her infamous "we close at 5"
edict, refusing to consider a similar appeal from a Houston killer
that came in minutes late. The ensuing execution appeared to flaunt
the U.S. Supreme Court's move to halt capital punishment nationwide
because of the injection question.
With states now cleared to start up again, Texas' highest criminal
court has decided that Huntsville's death chamber should not cut
short due process before resuming its lethal work. Nothing less
should be expected from a court that sets the tone for the nation's
leading capital punishment state.
Texas needs a way to learn from its grave mistakes
By The Editorial Board
Gov. Rick Perry says Texas does not need an innocence commission,
which, he asserts, would add an unnecessary bureaucracy to state
government. But the facts overwhelmingly point the other way.
We urge the governor to take another look at establishing a commission
that studies ways to bring greater fairness to the state's justice
system by examining its mistakes.
Perry's leadership would greatly improve chances that the Legislature
would create and finance an innocence commission next year. Also,
Perry's backing would send a message to the world that Texas is
serious about correcting mistakes that send innocent people to prison
and leave criminals on the street.
As it stands, 33 Texans have been exonerated by DNA evidence, all but
three occurring after 2000. There have been other exonerations during
that period as well, including more than a dozen residents of Tulia
who were wrongly convicted on the false testimony of a single law
enforcement official and bogus prosecution of a West Texas district
attorney.
Texas has paid out more than $8 million since 2001 to dozens of
innocent people convicted of and imprisoned for crimes they didn't
commit. Those people spent from four to 27 years behind bars for
crimes someone else committed.
If those facts and figures aren't persuasive enough, then the
governor should listen to those closest to the justice system,
including some fellow Republicans. Among those endorsing an innocence
commission is Texas Supreme Court Justice Wallace Jefferson, who
said, "The state has an interest in protecting its citizens from
convictions when citizens are innocent."
"Over 30 people have been exonerated, and there is no institutional
response to those incidents," Jefferson said on Tuesday. "When this
happens as frequently as it seems to happen in Texas, there ought to
be some examination of what went wrong in those cases."
In 2005 and 2007, Jefferson backed the creation of an innocence
commission, supporting legislation by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-
Houston. An innocence commission could offer statutory reforms that
reduce preventable errors.
As chief justice of the state's highest civil court, Jefferson said
he has discussed the matter with many chief justices across the
nation. He said several states have commissions or institutions that
Texas could model.
In Sunday's editions, we discussed the main reasons why innocent
people have been wrongfully convicted. They include intentional
errors by unethical prosecutors or police who suppress evidence or
coerce false confessions as well as unintentional mistakes by victims
or witnesses who incorrectly identify attackers.
Another prominent Republican, Sharon Keller, the presiding judge of
the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, told the Fort Worth Star-
Telegram that she, too, favors a state innocence commission if it
does not duplicate the work of other entities.
If any state needs an innocence commission dedicated to preventing
people from being sent to prison for crimes they didn't commit, it is
Texas. That much is clear. No one who professes to love justice
should be satisfied with the status quo that is stealing time and
money from the state and its residents.
As the state's chief executive officer, Perry should use his moral
and fiduciary duty to help establish such a commission.
May 20, 2008
EDITORIAL
With prison costs soaring, many states are understandably desperate
for ways to cut recidivism and increase the chances that newly
released prisoners build viable lives. The Second Chance Act, signed
into law by President Bush last month, would galvanize the re-entry
effort, providing the states with money and guidance. Now Congress
must appropriate the promised dollars.
Some states are already leading the way. In Illinois — where the
inmate population has doubled since the late 1980s — Gov. Rod
Blagojevich has begun a promising re-entry program that could become
a national model. The comprehensive plan includes drug treatment, job
training and placement and a variety of community-based initiatives
designed to help newly released inmates forge successful postprison
lives.
Illinois is also revamping its parole system by hiring more parole
officers and changing regulations so that parolees who commit lesser
violations are dealt with in their community — with counseling, drug
treatment or more vigilant monitoring — rather than being reflexively
sent back to prison. The state is working with Chicago’s Safer
Foundation to provide job training and placement for people just out
of prison.
Parole-based reforms are also proving effective in Texas and Kansas.
Both states have expanded drug treatment and other services and have
seen a drop in parole revocations. Therapeutic programs that help ex-
offenders reconnect with their families — while providing them with
medical and mental health care — are also important.
A fully funded Second Chance Act would help other states develop
their own much-needed re-entry programs. The $330 million cost is a
small price to pay to reduce prison populations and give more ex-
offenders a better chance to make it on the outside.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Who’s Guilty Now?
May 16, 2008
The nine came to the state Senate chamber on May 8—the largest single
gathering ever assembled of men wrongfully sent to prison in Texas.
They described how witnesses had misidentified them, how prosecutors
had lied to convict them, how faulty or falsified lab tests had made
them look guilty, how they had languished in prison, often for
decades, and how recent DNA tests ultimately freed them.
Houston Democratic state Sen. Rodney Ellis had summoned the nine as
part of a “Texas Roundtable on Wrongful Convictions.” Since 2000,
DNA tests have exonerated 33 men in Texas, men who suffered a combined
427 years in prison. No other state can match that disgraceful
record. James Lee Woodard is the most recent victim.
He was freed in late April after serving 27 years for the murder and rape of his
girlfriend. Woodard was 30 miles from the scene the night of the
crime. Two witnesses confirmed his alibi. But at trial, the
girlfriend’s stepfather gave false testimony (later recanted) that
implicated Woodard. Dallas prosecutors intentionally withheld
evidence that would have cleared him. He was imprisoned through seven
presidential administrations.
Charles Chatman sat next to Woodard in the Senate chamber. The State
of Texas also robbed him of 27 years before his release in January.
Chatman was unlucky enough to have once lived a few doors down from a
Dallas rape victim. Prosecutors convicted him solely on the victim’s
mistaken identification. Woodard and Chatman are among 17 men
exonerated thanks in part to the heroic efforts of Dallas County
District Attorney Craig Watkins. The first African-American D.A. in
Texas history, Watkins created a division to review claims of
innocence and retest DNA evidence.
Watkins’ efforts are possible only because the Dallas County D.A.’s
office has preserved samples of DNA evidence from convictions going
back decades. In most places in Texas, however, there’s no DNA
evidence to test. That includes Harris County, which imprisons more
people than any other place in Texas, and where many DNA samples have
been lost or destroyed.
“I hate to use this phrase, but these men are lucky,” said attorney
Jeff Blackburn, head of the Texas Innocence Project (affiliated with
the New York-based group run by Barry Scheck), which is responsible
for freeing so many of Texas’ wrongfully convicted.
“For every exoneration, there’s probably 300 people in [Texas prisons] that need
to get out. They can’t get their claims heard unless they’re in
Dallas County or there’s evidence to test. That’s the problem
we’ve got.”
A few procedural changes could prevent many wrongful convictions in
the future: instituting best practices for police lineups and witness
identifications, reviewing prosecutorial misconduct and defense
attorney incompetence, instituting better oversight of crime labs.
But none of that will free the hundreds—perhaps thousands—of
innocent men and women wasting away in Texas prisons.
”I’m a victim, make no mistake,” said Billy Smith, imprisoned 19 years for a 1986 rape he didn’t commit.
“After the first 10 years, at least once or twice a year, I thought about committing suicide…. There are prisoners today that are doing the same thing I did. That is the struggle.”
Ellis has tried unsuccessfully for years to create a state-funded
Innocence Commission to investigate wrongful conviction claims.
The state’s GOP leadership, with an assist from a Democratic House
committee chairman, killed Ellis’ bill once again during the 2007
legislative session. An Innocence Commission won’t solve the problem
entirely, but it’s a beginning. If the innocent remain in prison and
we do nothing, we all share in the guilt.
Editorial: State needs Innocence Commission
May 11, 2008
A poignant drama unfolded in the state Capitol last week that should
have been witnessed by all Texans.
Nine men at a head table in the Senate chamber looked out at a sea of
faces and shared stories of lost freedom. Unjustly convicted in Texas
courts, each was locked away in prison until the truth of his
innocence was established, most of them through DNA tests.
The first to speak, James Lee Woodard, lost 27 years after the
travesty of a wrongful conviction in Dallas County. Brandon Moon
spoke of his lost 17 years. And Charles Chatman, 27 years. James
Curtis Giles, 10 years. Carlos Lavernia, 15 years. Alejandro
Hernandez, 13 years. Billy James Smith, 19 years. James Waller, 10
years. Thomas McGowan Jr., 23 years.
Some told their stories with passion and resolve, others with
sadness. The facts chill to the bone. They reveal how scant or
sketchy evidence, faulty witness identification, faulty forensics and
gamesmanship by prosecutors helped railroad innocent people – and let
the guilty get away.
"It was a nightmare," said Mr. McGowan, erroneously picked out of a
photo lineup by a rape victim in Richardson in 1985. "It could happen
to your kids; it could happen to you."
Lawmakers in Texas must do something about that ghastly possibility.
Eight lawmakers were in the audience Thursday to hear the
testimonials of the exonerated men. Also attending were legal
experts, judges, police brass and other law enforcement officials.
They gathered at the invitation of Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston, who
has championed the forMation of a state innocence commission to
dissect cases of exonerated people and recommend ways to improve the
system. The concept is a sound one and has been adopted by at least
five states.
It's needed badly in Texas, which has 33 DNA-established exonerations
to date, more than any other state. Seventeen are from Dallas County,
more than in any other U.S. county.
News flashes about Dallas cases obscure the fact that local
exonerations would not be achieved were it not for the sound practice
of storing biological evidence in all criminal cases. No other Texas
county has done that; one can only imagine how many wrongly convicted
people from the 253 other Texas counties have no shot at DNA
exoneration. A special commission could recommend best practices for
evidence storage, among a long list of other law enforcement
procedures.
Credit goes to several local officials for attending Mr. Ellis'
summit and pledging to work to improve justice. They include District
Attorney Craig Watkins, Republican Sen. Bob Deuell, Democratic Rep.
Terri Hodge, Democratic Rep. Paula Pierson, Dallas Assistant Police
Chief Ron Waldrop and Richardson Police Chief Larry Zacharias. Two
judges from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals – Barbara Hervey and
Cheryl Johnson – offered ideas.
We hope the list of participants reflects momentum for the Ellis
proposal after years of indifference and hostility in the
Legislature. His legislation cleared the Senate last year but was
snuffed out in a House committee.
Roadblocks must be eliminated in next year's lawmaking session, and
Mr. Ellis deserves robust support from the Dallas-area delegation.
In fact, a Dallas Republican should step forward to sponsor the bill
in the House. That would provide the political and geographic balance
to help Mr. Ellis, a Democrat, secure passage.
No county has borne more shame than Dallas County for the outrage of
miscarriage of justice. No county has a greater responsibility to
change Texas law to prevent tragic mistakes in the future.
Potential legal reforms
A state innocence commission could recommend best practices in these
areas:
• Eyewitness identification and testimony
State needs Innocence Commission
Editorial: Bad prosecutors should face prison
May 6, 2008
Craig Watkins has had a few misses amid many hits in his first term
as Dallas County district attorney, but it's hard to argue with his
there-oughta-be-a-law sentiment on prosecutorial misconduct.
Mr. Watkins has pushed as hard to free the innocent as he has to
convict the guilty. In that spirit, he now wants Texas to increase
punishments – up to and including prison time – for prosecutors who
intentionally withhold evidence from defendants.
Today, Texas law allows cash compensation to those wrongfully
convicted but has no criminal sanctions for prosecutors who
intentionally commit "Brady violations." The term stems from a 1963
U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brady vs. Maryland that held that
defendants' constitutional rights are violated if prosecutors
intentionally or accidentally withhold evidence favorable to the
defense.
A sanction from the State Bar of Texas is the worst penalty a
prosecutor currently can expect, and such instances are so rare as to
be noteworthy when they occur.
Even the most egregious recent example of U.S. prosecutorial
misconduct – Durham County, N.C., District Attorney Mike Nifong and
the so-called Duke lacrosse case – resulted in only a day in jail, a
fine and disbarment. If that sounds stiff, consider the potential
life ruination from his attempts to prosecute three college students
on rape charges he knew to be false.
Few cases are as heinous or as obvious. Ferreting out this type of
injustice is far from as clear-cut as a DNA exoneration. It can be
years or even decades before legal teams can dig up the evidence
needed to bring such a charge.
If time – in effect, a statute of limitations – is a potential
obstacle, Mr. Watkins also knows that degree is another. Every bit of
evidence, from a witness to a document to a fiber found at a crime
scene, carries a different weight. This must be considered in any new
law.
Since he's not a state legislator, Mr. Watkins needs someone to carry
a bill for him in Austin. We would think he would have the support of
the vast majority of his DA colleagues. They know as well as he does
that any prosecutor who cheats the system and cuts corners makes all
of them look bad.
Bad prosecutors should face prison
Editorial: Free to kill again
April 17, 2008
The Supreme Court decision yesterday allowing execution by lethal
injection eventually will free the nation's busiest death chamber –
the one in Huntsville, Texas – to pick up where it left off.
It's not a moment to celebrate for those distressed about the quality
of justice meted out in the state's courts.
The six-month hiatus from state-sponsored killing allowed the Supreme
Court to review a challenge to a widely used injection method. A
hiatus is just what this newspaper has been calling for, but for
different reasons.
The disturbing spate of DNA exonerations of Texas inmates is the most
powerful argument for freezing Texas' machinery of death.
Dallas County has the distinction of having more discredited cases
than any county nationwide.
Just this week, a 16th wrongful conviction was announced here.
Thomas Clifford McGowan Jr. spent 23 years imprisoned by the state
stemming from a rape in Richardson that he didn't commit.
It appears that a flawed photo lineup technique was the root of the
breakdown in justice. Other prosecution methods and junk forensic
"science" have been implicated by the exonerations.
None have involved a death sentence, but they indicate flaws in the
system that could have dire consequences for the 360 men and nine
women on Texas' death row.
Gov. Rick Perry hailed the Supreme Court ruling yesterday, saying,
"Texas is a law and order state, and I stand by the majority of
Texans who support the death penalty as it is written in Texas law."
The governor's majority claim may be true, but support for the death
penalty appears to be waning in Texas. Prosecutors are more wary of
taking on marginal cases, and jurors want a higher standard of proof
than the recollections of a purported eyewitness. Life sentences
without parole are now an option for the courts.
Lethal injections may be cleared for use in the Texas death chamber
again, but that doesn't mean executions have to go forward. State
lawmakers who have doubts about the system have a responsibility to
restate their case.
April 15, 2008
LETTER
Life After Prison
To the Editor:
Re “U.S. Shifting Prison Focus to Re-entry Into Society”
Passage of the Second Chance Act marks a historic sea change in
national policy, away from virtually ensuring that people return to
crime because of policies that make it difficult for individuals to
obtain jobs and other necessities of life (even after they finish
their sentences), and toward protecting public safety, and
strengthening families and communities through policies that help ex-
prisoners successfully re-enter society.
But the Second Chance Act is only a first step.
Congress must appropriate the funds necessary to implement it, and all levels of government must remove unfair and counterproductive roadblocks that
prevent qualified people with criminal records from obtaining
employment, housing, benefits, driver’s licenses, student loans and
the right to vote.
Then, and only then, will we have a safer, stronger and fairer society.
Paul N. Samuels
New York, April 9, 2008
The writer is the director and president of the Legal Action Center,
a nonprofit, public interest law and policy organization.
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
Editorial: Offenders need bridge to normalcy
April 06, 2008
Texas lawmakers keep surprising us — in a pleasing way — on matters
of criminal justice and corrections.
Comment on this story
For decades, it appeared our legislators never knew a prison
construction plan they didn’t like and never saw a prison sentence
they couldn’t make longer.
In the last session of the Legislature, lawmakers took a different
view. They approved a package of reforms to reduce the prison
population by emphasizing substance abuse treatment and parole for
nonviolent offenders.
Reflecting a new realism about crowding our jails with low-level
offenders, they also approved a bill allowing police to ticket,
rather than arrest and detain, individuals for minor marijuana
possession.
Last week, in another encouraging discussion, a legislative panel
discussed how to deal with a critical shortage of halfway houses.
The shortage is due in part to local opposition when halfway houses
seek to operate in residential areas.
Bellmead residents succeeded in scuttling a halfway house operated by
The Church of the Open Door. Neighbor concerns are not to be
discounted when the subject is ex-convicts.
So, where to go?
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee proposed building them on
prison land in urban areas. Sounds like a great idea.
This is not just about relieving prisons that could be vented of
parolees who now are on waiting lists. This is about transitioning
offenders back into society in the best way.
What happened in Bellmead has happened all over the state, a string
of goose eggs for establishing halfway houses in residential areas.
Putting them on corrections property could end that drought.
Another drought exists, however. It’s about the need for transitional
housing for young offenders.
Officials of the McLennan County Juvenile Probation Department often
talk of this — the lack of transitional programs for young people
returning from the Texas Youth Commission or other forms of juvenile
detention, including the county’s boot camp program.
Indeed, the stakes seem far higher for juvenile offenders. They often
return to the very environments that spawned their lives of crime,
and return to crime.
The restructuring of the Texas Youth Commission this year, with large
numbers of young offenders being released, puts into play these very
circumstances.
Let’s see the next Texas Legislature do something bold and smart
relative to increasing community-based transitional options for
offenders, young and old.
Offenders need bridge to normalcy
Please share this problem in Texas -- in your circles and ask others
to intervene to change a policy that will bring nothing but shame and
human suffering to more of our elders.
Sherry Nance #544805
March 29, 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen:
There has been some conflict in Building K between staff and older
inmates who are disabled and can't respond during head count due to
being deaf, legally blind, speech impaired, and mentally challenged.
Some older women who are senile were sleeping on each other's bunks
because they couldn't find the bed they were assigned to, and one
mental case was sleeping under the bed of another inmate because she
was paranoid and afraid to sleep by herself. There was another
situation where one mental case was found setting in the shower area
playing in her own menstrual blood after repeatedly creating numerous
disturbances in the dorm. All these and other things are regular
happenings in the so-called "Old Ladies Dorm," but they are incidents
that need to be addressed as they apply to the problematic
individuals, not to all of us just because certain inmates in here
are prone to create problems.
What's happening with the elderly chain gang appears to be that
TDCJ decided that all of us older ladies need to be assigned to hard
labor so that we will be tired enough to sleep at night and not cause
disruptions, but working us like dogs is not the answer to problems
concerned with handling deaf, speech impaired, blind, senile and
physically challenged inmates. We are being made to pull weeds,
allegedly to be used for mulch fertilizer, when mowing would
accomplish essentially the same thing. I have a bad back, and my
medical profile states that I am not to do heavy lifting, work in a
squatting position, or work bending over for prolonged periods of
time. When I told the CO in charge of the work gang about my the
physical limitations outlined in my medical records, he told me to
set on the cold, damp ground to pull weeds and push myself along on
the wet grass. At least four other women I am closely acquainted with
who are in their early 60s, and one who is 67-years-old, were told to
do the same thing when they told the CO in charge about their various
handicaps.
Besides the dire degradation, physical discomfort, ! and total
disregard for our medical records, we are not being furnished with
gloves and are being forced to pull weeds bare-handed in cold, wet
weather. This constitutes cruel and unusual punishment because the
elderly women's chain gang that we have been assigned to is
apparently designed to punish us for being old, blind, and disabled.
It represents nothing less than an attempt at state-sponsored
euthanasia, which is a violation of our human rights, and it needs to
stop immediately.
I would like to ask each of you to contact the officials whose
information is listed below and demand that this abuse of prisoners
in their custody stop and that they consider other methods of dealing
with the problem of what to do with the growing number of elderly and
disabled female inmates other than work us to death in inclement
weather. The officials I would like for you to contact and their
contact information are as follows:
TDCJ Ombudsman
Correctional Institutions Division Ombudsman
Deputy Director Rodney Cooper
Warden Lorie Willis
Thank you for considering my request for assistance. Please keep my
sisters and I in your prayers because many of us are getting sick
from having to work outside in the cold weather.
In Solidarity,
COMMENTARY
Hohengarten: A way to ensure justice for all
Judge Nancy Hohengarten,
Traditionally, family members of criminal defendants do not discuss
cases with the prosecution, but when the defendant is mentally ill,
family input is appropriate.
A family member who understands the nature of a defendant's mental
illness, behavior and circumstances is a valuable resource to the
criminal justice system. Protection of the community requires that
the mentally ill receive treatment to prevent recidivism.
A mentally ill defendant who does not receive appropriate treatment will often
be re-arrested, thrown back in jail and yet another person will have
been a victim.In the misdemeanor courts' mental health docket, Travis
County Attorney David Escamilla allows his mental health prosecutor
to listen to family members because it leads to better decision-
making on criminal cases.
The role of a prosecutor, after all, is to seek justice. On a case-by-
case basis, it means that the punishment should be appropriate for
the offense and the offender. This, of course, requires the
prosecutor to show leadership on community problems — like mental
illness — that can lead to crime.
My experience with family members trying to keep a loved one mentally
healthy and out of jail is that they are exhausted, frustrated and
heartbroken.
Their experience provides valuable guidance to criminal justice
professionals so that the justice system appropriately addresses and
monitors mentally ill defendants.
One longtime Austin business owner whose son had damaged her property
asked me to put her son on probation so that he could be ordered to
take his medication. He did very well and was discharged early.
Another woman asked me to find treatment for her son because the
stress was killing her. Unfortunately, her mentally ill son couldn't
stop using cocaine while he waited the two months for residential
treatment on probation. Now he's spending a month in jail because the
wait for such treatment is shorter when you're locked up.
Family members aren't asking for leniency; rather, they want their
loved ones mentally healthy so they won't break the law and end up in
jail. Thus their interests coincide with the interests of criminal
justice.
Prosecutors, judges and defense attorneys need to listen to these
families. It is our responsibility to provide protection for the
community and fairness and justice for all.
Hohengarten presides over Travis County Court at Law 5. She is a
member of the Mayor's Mental Health Task Force Monitoring Committee
and the Austin Travis County Mental Health Jail Diversion Committee.
The Brownsville Herald
February 2, 2008
Just Treatment
It's long been held that societies are ultimately judged not by the
monuments they build for their leaders, but by how they treat the
least of their members.
Those who are placed behind bars certainly are among this group.
Many people hold little compassion for jail and prison inmates.
Errors in prosecution and identification notwithstanding, it can be
assumed that they're in there for a reason.
Even as it remains one of the last developed nations that execute
people, the United States and its local counterparts generally boast
that they take better care of their prisoners than most other places
in the world.
Indeed, the nation's penal system has come a long way since the late
U.S. Judge Sarah T.
Hughes mandated widespread reforms in the 1960s and 1970s. Hughes
rightly insisted that officials recognize that regardless of the
crimes they might have committed, inmates continued to be human and
retained the right to be treated as humans even while incarcerated.
It's saddening, to say the least, to see that conditions in the
Cameron County detention system have been deemed far below the
minimum standards set for such facilities. Diana Claitor, co-founder
of the Texas Jail Project advocacy group, whose letter was published
on these pages last week, called conditions in the county "some of
the worst (in Texas)," particularly with regard to women.
Jail officials concede that female inmates receive less recreation
and less time outdoors than their male counterparts. The officials
say overcrowding forced them to move the women from their designated
area to the old jail that was to be abandoned when the Carrizalez-
Rucker facility opened in 2002 - even as a tent annex built last
year to relieve overcrowding remains unused.
Jails must be more than just a place to warehouse those whom we want
removed from society, if only temporarily. Humane treatment can go a
long way toward helping rehabilitate those who do wrong.
Tales abound of people who were considered incorrigible when they
entered jail or prison, but acquired valuable education or skills, or
were influenced by kindness behind bars and turned their lives
around. Researchers have found that many inmates have histories of
neglect or abuse, and they have been successfully rehabilitated with
the right combination of respect, discipline and responsibility.
Those influences don't come when people sit alone in dark cages all
day long, and don't even see daylight for more than a few minutes per
week.
Mandates and recommendations by Hughes and others have been codified;
the Texas Commission on Jail Standards details those standards to
local governments, and periodically checks on the conditions at the
facilities across the state.
All four of Cameron County's detention centers routinely fail those
inspections, and did so again this past week.
There is no reason for such chronic problems in our county jail
system.
There certainly is no shortage of officials and private advocates,
such as Claitor and local advocates and religious officials, who can
offer their assistance to inmates and jail officers.
The primary responsibility for conditions at county detention
facilities rests with our sheriff. Commissioners Court, however,
should recognize its responsibility to oversee county operations,
including those at the jail.
After all, the people sitting in those jail cells might be criminals
to many, but every one of them is someone's son or daughter, uncle
our aunt, mother or father.
Ultimately, our treatment of these individuals reflects strongly on
our county as a whole.
Example Letter;
Representative Jerry A. Madden, Chairman
Senator John Whitmire, Chairman
Date: ____________________
RE: PRISON OVER-CROWDING AND LEGISLATION FOR 2008
Rep. Madden and Sen. Whitmire:
As a tax-paying voter and citizen of the State of Texas, I wish to address each of you concerning the following:
At the present time, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice System is hopelessly over-crowded AND under-staffed while simultaneously operating at or beyond the maximum legal capacity permissible by Law.
The 2008 Texas Legislature has no choice but to address this issue in the upcoming session.
Be it known that I DO NOT want any new prison units built within the State of Texas. We cannot fully staff nor properly fund the ones already in existence.
It is time that Texas replace its barbaric “throw away the key” attitude with viable legislation.
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS:
1. I request that legislation be passed which would reduce the parole eligibility requirements of all offenders currently serving under the ½ (50%) law from that of 50% minimum flat time before parole eligibility to that of ¼ (25%) before parole eligibility.
2. Legislation should be passed which provides for MANDATORY RELEASE FOR FIRST TIME OFFENDERS (ONLY) who meet their parole eligibility requirements with satisfactory disciplinary records (which reflects an effort at rehabilitation).
3. All offenders, regardless of crime or sentencing legislature, be given both “Good Time” AND “Work Time” to be calculated concurrent with their “Flat Time” served and credited toward both parole eligibility status AND discharge of sentence. It is time that Texas come out of the Dark Ages and provide some type of incentives for offenders to work and conduct themselves in a manner which reflects their active effort at self-rehabilitation ... we PUNISH them when they do bad, we should REWARD them when they do good.
4. All above legislation should be applied RETRO-ACTIVELY to ALL qualified offenders.
We, the voting citizens of the State of Texas, have spoken. We ask that our voices and wishes be heard and applied by those who WE elect and whose salaries we pay. If we cannot get our wishes carried out by those currently in office then we assure you that this will be reflected at the upcoming elections.
Respectfully Submitted,
Justice will prevail.
Column - Greg Sagan:
Opinion
"Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished:
Richard Bach
Last week brought us an extraordinary story from Dallas. After
spending 27 years in prison for rape, Charles Chatman was exonerated
based on DNA testing.
This tool of science called DNA testing is proving to be a powerful
weapon in law enforcement, powerful enough to cut in both directions.
It can blame convincingly and exonerate decisively. Coupled with the
other tools of contemporary police science, our ability to winnow out
the guilty from the innocent is better than ever.
What makes this extraordinary is the fact that the crime is 27 years
old, and most police labs would not have kept tissue specimens for so
long. But since Chatman's testing was performed by a private lab that
did keep such specimens, he was able to have a modern test of justice
applied to a quarter-century' s injustice - and prevail.
At the same time, what is extraordinary for Chatman is becoming an
outrage for the city and county of Dallas. Dallas County apparently
leads the country in the number of prisoners whose convictions have
been overturned based on DNA testing. Here, I suppose, one could
argue that since the private lab in Dallas that handles their
criminal investigations keeps these samples and others don't, we
don't really know how Dallas stacks up as a paragon of justice.
But were we to advance such an argument then we would be forced to admit
that Dallas is, at best, representative of other jurisdictions, and
this problem of wrongful conviction could well be staggering.
It seems obvious to me that wrongful conviction, no matter what its
absolute rate, must be aggravated by overly zealous prosecution.
There is no leap of faith involved in contemplating how a railroad
job, while probably good for one's record and political career, might
lead to convicting the wrong person more often than a dispassionate,
thorough, procedurally methodical one.
Which really is why we have professional police forces and open
courts in the first place. We hire these professionals to dispense
justice so we won't try to do it while we are under the sway of
powerful emotions. We not only expect our police and courts to be
objective, professional, and impartial, we demand it. We depend on it.
We Texans like to think of ourselves as tough on crime. This belief
is mirrored in the way our politicians seek our favor. Anyone in
office who is deemed "soft on crime" can kiss his or her career
goodbye as of the next election, and until then he faces hard sledding.
But being tough on crime carries with it some social responsibilities. One is that we must only convict guilty people.
When I was growing up I heard America's system of justice portrayed
as, "It's better to let a thousand guilty people go free than to
convict a single innocent person." That philosophy was equal to
"innocent until proven guilty" in my upbringing, but today I feel as
though such principles are considered quaint and naïve.
Another is that the power justice wields must produce justice - and
not merely convictions.
I have no reason today to believe that our local law enforcement
establishment is anything except superbly professional. But for those
who seek elective office in the judicial branch, I offer some
unsolicited advice, and that is to back off the "I'll hammer the
guilty" fire and brimstone and include more of the "and I'll make
sure we serve the innocent by ..." stuff. And that means the innocent
you sweep up from time to time, not just the innocent who have been
victimized by criminals.
I would like to see society evolve beyond the thinking that
juxtaposes "coddling" as the sole alternative to overly zealous
prosecution. Someone who does not favor extreme or expedient
enforcement measures isn't necessarily soft on crime, he may only be
soft on those accused of crimes until the certainty of the crime and
the criminal can be demonstrated.
If there is one inescapable fact about Chatman's case, it is that
he's not alone.
We don't know how many there are like him, but it's obvious already
that what happened to them could happen to you or to me.
I submit that anyone who wants to make a meaningful difference in
this world undertake the mission of seeing justice done at whatever
level his gaze and grip can reach.
I mean, you know, it would be nice if Charles Chatman was not so much
"extraordinary" as "unique."
Greg Sagan is an Amarillo business consultant and freelance writer.
He can be reached via e-mail at letters@amarillo.com.
Click here to return to story:
© The Amarillo Globe-News Online
TO Midland Reporter-Telegram LTE
RE: 11/28/2007 Editorial,
Your editorial questions a recent study that concludes we must make big changes in prison reform or suffer severe consequences. I work in that arena so ams particularly interested suggestions for solutions. Up to now the only suggestions the mainstream have made involves spending more money, building more prisons, shuffling prisoners from state to state, and an occational suggestion to decrease the 85% time served (and that one would apply to murderers as well as non-violent drug offenders).
The reporter who wrote the editorial is upset because this study has dared to suggest the only REAL solution to the prison problem: (which to me has been a no-brainer for quite awhile): Put fewer people in jail. Oh my gosh, the writer says, that's DANGEROUS ground. We can't quit arresting drug users and abusers - those non-violent people are dangerous. This writer has obviously not studied the effectiveness of this costly and ineffective drug prohibition.
Historically prohibition has never reduced the harms of the intended substance and this failed policy applied to drugs has not worked any better than it did for alcohol, cocaine, or even coffee.
Problem is it only took us a decade to figure out it wasn't going to work for alcohol yet we've insisted on funding drug prohibition for over 60 years now. Is we getting stupider?
Kay Lee
11/28/2007
Midland Reporter-Telegram
There is a recent privately funded study that is recommending some sweeping changes in the way we operate our prison system and we find some of the leanings in the study as moving toward dangerous ground.
The report was produced by the JFA Institute, a Washington criminal-justice research group, and its authors included eight criminologists from major U.S. public universities.
It was funded by the Rosenbaum Foundation and financier George Soros's Open Society Institute.
As far as the study goes, we agree on the basis of fact. The number of Americans in prison has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime but at great cost to taxpayers and society. That is hard to dispute on any level.
Where dispute arises, however, is in the approach we take in solving key issues pertaining to the fact. The study calls for a major justice-system overhaul. It is in error, however, on how to proceed in that direction.
The truth is that prison reform is constantly under way. It is fact that our prisons of today are much different than they were 100 years ago. It also can be argued the changes that have occurred have produced both positive and negative results. That is why it is important to keep exploring methods to improve the system and the rehabilitive nature of the process.
The report recommends shorter sentences and parole terms, alternative punishments, more help for released inmates and decriminalizing recreational drugs as steps that would cut the prison population in half, save $20 billion a year and ease social inequality without endangering the public.
We certainly need to explore some of these avenues as we move forward, but falling into the trap of decriminalization of crimes is a wrong path to follow and this is a stance we have made before and will continue to do so.
As a society, we must take a stand on certain issues and we will not prevail as a superior society if we lessen our attack on the use of illegal drugs or other crimes that "pose no harm to our society."
Let's just take the use of illegal drugs as a starting point. How can such a learned study come to the conclusion that such crimes are not harmful to society? Every study we've seen shows massive negative effects on society at every turn in both costs and ultimate quality of life.
Yes, we need to continue to seek ways to limit jail populations across the nation, but decriminalization of crimes is not a good starting point.
To make a comment on this editorial, go to;
Gary Ott Editorial
Internet Editor mywesttexas
Oct. 10, 2007
LETTERS
Justice not equal in Texas/Ashamed for us all
I am glad that Ronald Gene Taylor is out of jail and that the 14-year
hell he has endured is over (see the Chronicle's Oct. 10 article, "No
longer a prisoner / 'Something needs to be done'"). As a Houstonian,
I want to apologize to him for the time he spent in prison.
Every single case that has been tried in the last 20 years in Harris
County should have all of its evidence re-examined and retested for
DNA. I know this could cost a great deal, but the fact that there are
now three innocent people out of jail due to the lack of
professionalism by the Houston Police Department's crime lab means
that there are probably more.
I am embarrassed for our community that this has happened, and we
should do everything possible to ensure we don't have any more
innocent people in jail.
CATHERINE RITTER
Outrageously unfair
Regarding the Chronicle's Oct. 10 article "Shelton sentenced to jail,
probation": Selective justice is alive and well in Texas. The laws
are completely different for the wealthy in Texas, and we have seen
this time and time again. It pays to have a high-powered attorney and
connections. Why waste taxpayers' money trying these cases at all?
In the case of the judge's daughter, Elizabeth Shelton, the weirdest
part is that she will be allowed to remain free until she finishes
her school semester in December, purchase another car and stay close
to her family.
The rich and powerful get away with the biggest crimes while innocent
people are put away on mishandled evidence.
It is an outrage that the Houston Police crime lab has blundered
evidence and allowed innocent people to spend time in prison.
MELISSA G. PRYOR
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
March, 2007
To: Texas Governor Rick Perry
Governor Perry, Although I can't condone Shaquanda's part in the incident, I cannot think of any justification for Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville's decision: Seven years in prison. 7 years, for Heaven's sake, she's 14 years old! She shoved someone, not stabbed them...
I am from Texas, both my parents died there and 4 of my own 5 children live there now with their families. I'm very concerned about how children are treated by Texas police officers and judges. I have four daughters and sons-in-law, 5 grandkids and 1 great-grandson that could one day come before Judge Superville, heaven forbid.
I've been reading some of his past decisions, and I have to agree with the general public that Shaquanda's case appears to be a racial judgement. Judge Superville gives all non-black citizens a bad rap. That's not safe, nor fair, particularly from a Judge! A man sits on the judge's bench because he is supposedly somehow wiser than the rest of us. But Judge Superville is obviously no King Solomon.
It's more complicated than a little girl going to prison because she's black. It's about children's futures. It's about abusing prisons and the taxpayers who build them. It's about misusing authority.
Texas is still on a bit of a hot seat for racism from the Tulia Drug Narc Farce and the Dallas County Jail nastiness. Texas prisons are overflowing and everyone is looking, Governor... Do the right thing equally for Shaquanda.. for every citizen who comes before the court, and for every overburdened taxpayer... Correct Shaquanda's legal situation and make Judge Superville get off that bench!
K. Lee
14 year old African American girl, given 7 years for pushing a teachers aide....
"Read to the end of the article, about the turmoil suffered by Shaquanda in juvenile prison, where 95% of the offenders are repeat and violent (read: real crimes), has caused her to attempt suicide on her life 3 times. 3 times! a 14-year old, my little sister, is trying to kill herself because a racist bigot of a judge put her in prison for shoving someone. SHOVING!"
"If you believe racism is dead....this should be an eye opener. Click on the link below, don't just read the article, this is your chance to stand for something... pass this on to as many people as you know and take the time to write a letter to our dear Gov.Perry... ..and to this child to let her know that there is a GOD and that there is hope.....I did and I encourage all of you to do so as well." A.T., Texas
Want to help stop misuse of prisons?
READ THE ARTICLE:
October 4, 2006
Please look at these remarks from Texas Department of Criminal Justice Employees
I have monitored some of the correctional employee's websites such as The Backgate and texasjustice.org since 2003.,p>
I have gained a wealth of knowledge from these websites.
This came in handy during Hurricane Katrina because the units were on lockdown and I was able to know that my husband was safe.
One disturbing problem that has bothered me during the last three years is the comments that are made by correctional employees about inmates and their family members. When an inmate enters the system they have begun the payment for the crime they chose to commit.
However, it is not in a correctional employee's job description to have the mentality of the sample of comments listed below.
I have numerous pages of these comments that not only show the treatment that offenders receive but also the feelings about wardens, sargents, captains and other high rank officials within the department.
One thing that infuriates many of those that make comments such as these is when a warden, major, captain or correctional officer is "inmate friendly".
How do we know that these are not only correctional officers that make these comments?
If correctional employees had the pay and training that they deserved perhaps the mentality of those employees would not be as those listed below.
"Who could love someone who shares 3600 other men's underwear"
"Another reason to jack with their chow"
"marrero is a snake and cannot be trusted. His word is no good. He speaketh with fork tounge and is inmate friendly as a motha Beware!"
Snitches, b##hes and punks. The agency is full of em on both sides of the bars"
"If they have that big a lack of self esteem that they have to resort to an aids infected punk convict, what wont they do?"
Sorry sweetie, don't speak for the rest here, but this ain't an inmate site, this is a cop site..........take that somewhere else..... www.findapunk.com"
In regards to a "draft" one officer wrote this "once the fags are gone, send in: the incarcerated reserves! Once they are defeated we call a truce and we start clean america, oh and we at this point give the dykes an ultimatum.
And the most offensive remark was this one made
With comments such as those listed above posted by employees within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, is it unthinkable to assume that this mentality is what my husband is experiencing with those that are imposing sex offense conditions for a conviction that was set aside and the indictment dismissed? These comments are referring to someones brother, father, husband or grandfather, sister, wife or mom.
Although they have made mistakes that have cost them their freedom, the prison sentence is just that.(the sentence for their wrong's in society)
It is not in an employee's job description to harass an offender further.
I completely agree that there are offenders that do despicable things in prison and out of prison. Some should never be allowed back in society.
But, who monitors those that are released? Who is able to look within the file to see? Who oversees those who make such important decisions?
Who allows the Parole Division to "rubberstamp" special conditions without the approval of the board? Please fix our broken system.
Written By:
August, 6th, 2006
Dear Editor,
I am a Criminal Justice Advocate for Texas prisoners and their families. Your story is of great concern to us.
This law further deteriorates the families of those in our prisons.
To give you some facts:
2. They do not have Air conditioning and have to buy fans to stay ALIVE. If they have no money, my organisation donates fans, to keep them ALIVE. Please note, they do not all have a death sentence.
3. If they are on disability or Social Security when they are incarcerated, those payments cease, only to cause hardship to the families.
4. Moneys in the Commissary fund come from the families, not the inmate. Consequebtly, the families pay for these fines.
The statement "And of course you hear from the family members. The inmates are going to contact them and get them to try to pay it off so the money won't come out of their commissary fund."
Well duh!!! The money in the fund comes from the family in the first place!
Please also note that all commissary funds sent to inmates draw interest, which the State gets, not the inmates!
The State makes plenty of money off of inmate families without more "milking" practices.
The ways the State of Texas punishes is the most bizarre and ineffective way to handle criminals.
Instead of rehabilitating them and returning them to society with skills, they return unskilled, uneducated and defeated human beings to us.
That's the kind of story you need to get out to the public.
Sincerely,
SAMPLE LETTER YOU MAY USE
Date, 2006
Dear Honorable Congress Members, House and Senate:
I am writing to you concerning the current prison system is set up the way it is makes all us Americans look inhumane. Prisoner's are human beings who deserve a second chance. We American's must step up to this challenge and make the necessary changes to promote more successful re-entry. All Prisoner's are eventually released, I prefer they be properly rehabilitated prior to re-entry to society. It makes us all safer in the long run.
Most of the prisoners in state custody are non-violent drug offenders. It is illogical to spend tax dollars on long imprisonment when other means have proven far more effective in solving the social problems of drug abuse and addiction. State leaders across the U.S. are moving ahead on their own to reform failed sentencing, drug, and parole policies.
A humane philosophy of earned, early release would foster incentives toward cooperation, study, and learning skills that would begin creating a safer environment for staff and prisoners alike, not to mention a more successful re-entry.
With hope for the future, and families reuniting earlier, the impact and social costs of incarceration would be lessened. High costs of imprisonment -- more than $10 billion annually for nonviolent drug offenders alone- could be dramatically reduced. Inhumane prison overcrowding would be relieved, along with the immediate need to build expensive, additional prisons.
Please help the citizens of Texas to build a safer society by promoting rehabilitation, shorter incarceration times for deserving prisoners, and more appropriate use of public funds to strengthen effective social programs.
Sincerely, ______________________________
All Congress Members in Texas:
Barton, Joe, Texas, 6th
Bonilla, Henry, Texas, 23rd
Brady, Kevin, Texas, 8th
Burgess, Michael, Texas, 26th
Carter, John, Texas, 31st
Conaway, K. Michael, Texas, 11th
Cuellar, Henry, Texas, 28th
Culberson, John, Texas, 7th
DeLay, Tom, Texas, 22nd
Doggett, Lloyd, Texas, 25th
Edwards, Chet, Texas,
Gohmert, Louie, Texas,
Gonzalez, Charlie A., Texas, 20th
Granger, Kay, Texas, 12th
Green, Al, Texas, 9th
Hall, Ralph M., Texas, 4th
Hensarling, Jeb, Texas,
Hinojosa, Rubén, Texas, 15th
Jackson Lee, Sheila,
Johnson, Eddie Bernice, Texas, 30th
Johnson, Sam, Texas, 3rd
Marchant, Kenny, Texas, 24th
McCaul, Michael T., Texas, 10th
Neugebauer, Randy, Texas, 19th
Ortiz, Solomon P., Texas, 27th
Paul, Ron, Texas, 14th Washington, DC:
Poe, Ted, Texas, 2nd
Reyes, Silvestre, Texas, 16th
Sessions, Pete, Texas, 32nd
Smith, Lamar, Texas, 21st
Thornberry, Mac, Texas, 13th
04/05/06
The Offended
Much has been written about sex offenders so let’s take a look at the other side of the issue and speak about those who are victimized.
“ Their lives are ruined. They will be scarred for the rest of their lives”. We have heard it a million times. We don’t actually know the extent of psychological damage. From the moment someone goes to a hospital and makes a claim of sexual assault, the nurse checks the box that says “victim of sexual assault” and that person s forever dubbed a victim.
As good Americans what do we do to help these victims heal and reclaim a normal life?
Actually, we do nothing except punish the offender. Fix the victim’s rather than throwing them in the trash heap!
There should be a requirement that every person who is a victim must undergo psychological treatment. Follow-up must be done to make sure this happens. Treatment is essential and it must happen. Society claims sympathy for the victim and nobody is trying to pass bills to make sure they get treatment because people really don’t care.
“The only person that can forgive the offender is the victim”. This is so true but we have no mediation programs that give the victim an opportunity at closure. The offender is sent away for 25 years and not allowed to respond to any contacts made by the victim. To do so means additional prison time. We take great strides to make sure forgiveness does not happen. We go to great extremes to deprive a victim of closure.
“For the sake of the children” is the most tired and overused phrase yet. With that attached to a bill, who dares to vote against it? People who hate kids? It is the biggest piece of propaganda ever sold to the American public. This has nothing to do with kids. They are the tools of propaganda and, whatever danger existed 20 years ago, still exists. Our only accomplishment is that we have become more adept in destroying people’s lives. It is time to stop the pretense.
Sure, you care about your kids but pretending to care for children in general is sad. Our laws, our actions and our attitudes prove that we are a nation of liars. Rape by the system is far more widespread and traumatic than rape by an individual. When do we stop the career rapists?
S. Lowery
03/18/2006
I am so sickened by this that I had to turn my TV off last night.
Hi Greta,
Stranger rape is the strongest sign there is of being a predator. On top of that he used a knife and threatened to kill the 12-year-old girl. Rather than worry about civil commitment years later this man should have undergone extensive psychological testing at the time and sentencing should have been done accordingly. Had these steps been taken this latest incident would not have happened.
There was mention last night of psychological reports. I really hope you will find out how much time a psychologist spent with Hinson and what tests were done. That information will speak volumes.
There are some huge concerns here. The world needs to know the difference between an offender and a predator. No Judge, DA or defense attorney is qualified to determine whom fs a predator. It takes testing for mental illness, personality disorders and violent tendencies. This could all be determined at the time of a first offense and perhaps there would never be a second offense.
No judge or attorney that I know has a degree in human behavior and we must turn to experts. The hit-or-miss actions by courts are not working and never will.
Registration was intended for predators but is so filled with non-violent offenders that the public has no idea who to be afraid of so it defeats its purpose. We always hear that he "fell through the cracks". We cannot police 600,000 plus offenders so it is time we started listening to the treatment providers and watch those who are dangerous. There are ways to separate the violent from the non-violent and we could prevent these situations. We are capable of doing so much better.
S. Lowery
02/01/2006
Texas has the largest prison population in the nation.
It was my understanding that the increase in prisons back in the late 80's and
90's was to be tough on crime but why was the crime rate back in 1990
10% above the national average and today it is 23% above the national
average? Ironically back in 1990 we had a prison population of 50,042
and today it is 168,105. It doesn't appear to me that the "tough on
crime" policy worked.
Can anyone explain to me why the entire
Northeastern population of 52 million has a total inmate population of
170,000 and Texas has a population of 22.5 (which is on the high side)
and an inmate population of 168,105?
The Northeastern states consist of a total of NINE states and I CANNOT understand how it is possible that Texas has as many as those states combined. Unless of course it has something to do with $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Since the Texas Correctional Industries had sales of 71,952,107 for 2004's fiscal year, I can see why they would need those extra bodies for the free
labor they get. The four page letter that I recieved from the
Governor's office was in great detail about education but did not
touch on the above. They did say to contact legislators as they make
the laws so that is what I have been doing and I will continue.
Letter From;
This is the first time I've ever gotten a response from Senator Allard about anything, and it made me mad. Here's my reply to him:
Re:
Dear Senator Allard,
I can assure you that criminals and their families are being vicimized every day by a system that is abusive and negligent. I can give you detailed examples of how prisoners in our country are treated like they aren't human nor deserving of even the slightest consideration. They are not animals.
Over 90% of prisoners will be released back into society, after spending years in a punitive system that does NOTHING to rehabilitate them or
prepare them for their return. Due to mandatory minimum sentences and a court system stacked against offenders, people spend decades in
prison, coming out even more bitter and angry than when they went in. Is this who you want for your neighbor? Or would you rather have neighbors who have learned skills that will help them become productive members of society?
Senator Allard, if you were TRULY concerned about victims, you would work to prevent people from becoming future victims due to the current
revolving door of the prison system. You would be interested in reestablishing meaningful programs for prisoners while they are incarcerated so they won't reoffend. You would be interested in helping families of prisoners, who struggle and become victims of society due to the stigma of having an incarcerated loved one. You would be interested in ensuring that ALL of our citizens have fair and just treatment, not those you feel are more deserving than others. Your "tough on criminals" rhetoric is ignorant and sad. I encourage you to learn the TRUTH of how our criminal justice system really works, and just how broken it really is.
Sincerely,
Attached Message
February 8, 2006
Dr. Louann Blacketer
Dear Louann:
Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced S. 1088 on May 19, 2005. This bill would amend the federal judicial code to revise the law and procedures
for habeas corpus petitions. S. 1088 would essentially restrict a state inmate's right to a federal habeas claim. This bill would deny or
restrict petitions that have been procedurally barred in a state court, are based upon errors in sentences, or challenge the exercise of a states's executive clemency or pardon power. S. 1088 is in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Should this legislation reach the Senate floor for a vote, I will keep your comments in mind.
Today our system places far too much emphasis on criminal rights, while dismissing the victims of crime. This trend must stop. Criminals are
not victim; they victimize society. We must do all that we can to ensure that those who have suffered at the hands of a criminal can feel safe again.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you again. If you are interested in more information on issues important to Colorado and the nation, please visit my website at http://www.allard.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Office of the Lt. Governor David Dewherst
To Whom it May Concern:
My name is Melinda Wawak and I am writing in regards to information that I have recently discovered. According to The National Education Association, Texas is the only state in the nation to reduce assistance provided to help students meet higher standards during the 2004-2005 school year. NEA's statistics show that expenditures for education per student fell by one percent. The state also dropped from 36th to 40th compared to other states educational investments. Why does Texas spend $ 1,440 per student less then the national average? Why have Texas teacher's salaries fallen for the 5th consecutive year and placed at 33rd in the country making $6,700 less then the national average? Last but not least, why does our state provide 35% or less of the funding for our public schools? Is our educational system not important enough to our lawmakers to place higher then 40th in the nation?
In comparison to our educational system I would like to know why Texas has the largest prison population in the nation? It was my understanding that the increase in prisons back in the late 80's and 90's was to be tough on crime but why was the crime rate back in 1990 10% above the national average and today it is 23% above the national average? Ironically back in 1990 we had a prison population of 50,042 and today it is 168,105. It doesn't appear to me that the "tough on crime" policy worked but rather that you have taken away from my children's education. Can you explain why the entire Northeastern population of 52 million has a total inmate population of 170,000 and Texas has a population of 22.5 (which is on the high side) and an inmate population of 168,105? The Northeastern states consist of a total of nine states and I cannot understand how it is possible that Texas has as many as those states combined. There are billions of dollars being wasted on the prison system for our state that could be directed towards education. It is obvious that "tough on crime" didn't work. The figures prove that. The figures also prove that we are in the BOTTOM 10% in the nation on education investments for our children. Do you know that our children don't have books of their own. They have a "class set". When I was in school I had a book issued for each class and I was held responsible for that book. Why are my children not allowed the same advantages I had in the 80's? Have we taken a step back in time? Last year my son and a peer passed a petition to raise awareness to the deterioration at his school. Ironically, statistics show that 60% of Texas schools have one or more problems in regards to repairs that have not been met. I am well aware of the products that inmates provide to the states properties such as lockers, bleachers, flags, etc, but inmate labor cannot FIX those problems on the schools and I would like to know why those problems have been ignored? What about the 2500 guard shortage in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system? We have resulted in hiring young, fresh out of high school students to oversee the "criminal element" which just so happens to rank highest in the nation. Why would we let students that have received a less fulfilling education then 90% of the nation work in a prison system with a population that almost equals that of nine state's combined inmate population? Would it not make better since to decrease the prison population to a balance that is equal to the rest of the nation and spend those wasted tax funds on educating our children? By decreasing the prison population you would be able to increase the correctional officer's pay and afford them the training that they deserve. Keeping prisoners locked up for longer sentences is not the answer. All one has to do is look at the statistics.
I am not happy with the statistics that I have discovered and I will make it my goal to educate as many senators, state representative , educators, and anyone else that will listen. This is an absolute outrage and I believe in standing up for what is right. If you have children or grandchildren I am sure that you will agree. I am enclosing the statistics that will back my findings. I ask that you please take these very important issues into consideration as the legislature meets after the first of the year.
Respectfully,
Guest Column: Spirit of justice remains caged behind prison bars
By Matthew Tomlinson
It is said that there are actual breathing, thinking human beings in prison, some of whom have something worthwhile to say.
After being incarcerated for 15 years, the old convict had little left to say. A 238-year sentence gave him plenty of time to try to think of something, but he rarely came up with anything worthwhile. Few people cared to listen anyway.
A spirit named Quidnunc appeared to the old con. A quidnunc is a minder of other people's business. The old con had gotten old by minding his own.
"Greetings, you who are highly favored," said the spirit.
"Quidnunc," said the old con, "you don't even resemble an angel, much less an archangel. Stop stealing lines from Luke 2:28 before the blessed Archangel Gabriel gets you for plagiarism. Now, what do you want?"
"I want your opinion," the spirit replied.
The old con waved dismissively. "Who in the world gives a flying pig about my opinions?"
"Paul says in First Corinthians 6:3 that you saints will judge angels. I want you to judge a prison matter."
"All right," the old man shrugged.
"Several years ago, some Texas counties sued the state for money," Quidnunc began. "When a local district attorney prosecuted a state
prisoner for a crime committed in a state prison, the county wanted state money. To avoid paying money to the counties, the state hired its own Texas Department of Criminal Justice defense attorney."
"Yes, it's cheaper that way," said the old con. "I know the background; give me some facts."
"A TDCJ guard died at a TDCJ prison," Quidnunc continued. "A TDCJ prisoner was charged with the killing. TDCJ officials investigated the charges. The TDCJ prosecutor got an indictment for capital murder against the prisoner."
"Proceed," said the old con.
"A TDCJ defense attorney was appointed to represent the TDCJ prisoner. The attorney advised the prisoner to plead guilty, which he did. The TDCJ prisoner was sentenced to death."
The old con tugged at his tired ear. "Then the question is what?"
"Should the guilty verdict stand? the spirit replied. "Should the death sentence stand? Based on your own experience in prison, why
should they stand, or why should they not stand?"
The old con lacked enough facts to fairly judge this matter.
He could, though, form some reasonable opinions.
He knew that few prison guards innocently doing their jobs in a professional manner got injured. Odds were good that the deceased
TDCJ guard had done something unprofessional. Even police, military personnel and other prison guards had admitted that.
The old con remembered a letter to the editor from Richard L. Judy Sr. he had seen in the Nov. 4 Globe-News. Judy had "12 years total
experience" in the military, as a cop and as a prison guard.
"I was trained to treat the public and offenders with tact and professionalism," he wrote. "If an officer has a poor demeanor or a 'John Wayne' attitude, a situation can escalate. A professional demeanor can de-escalate any situation."
The old con nodded in agreement. He wondered if the deceased guard also would have agreed. He wondered if the convicted prisoner would
agree, if he could have read the Amarillo newspaper on death row.
Still, nothing could change the evil fact that a man had died. Another man awaited lethal injection from TDCJ medical personnel. Maybe that man deserved to die and burn in hell thereafter - maybe not.
The old con frowned at Quidnunc.
"Here is my opinion. The TDCJ prisoner had both a TDCJ prosecutor and a TDCJ defense attorney, creating the appearance of a conflict of interest. It doesn't matter if there actually was any such conflict;
the appearance is enough. Even Saddam Hussein got a lawyer who is not from Iraq. Because of this appearance, the death sentence must not stand."
The old con sighed and adjusted his glasses. "However, the TDCJ prisoner pleaded guilty, the strongest proof there can be. A guilty
man must be punished. Texas law prescribes only two punishments for capital murder: death or life in prison. The prisoner must not be put to death; his sentence must be life in prison."
Finally, the old man shrugged. "But who in the world gives a flying pig about my opinions?"
Quidnunc suggested: "Maybe there could be some kind of quid pro quo here. Maybe as you judged, you will be judged. Perhaps a good
measure, pressed down and shaken together, soon will be dumped in your lap."
The old con finally lost his patience. "I got all the time I need, Quidnunc! I don't need no life sentence! Now get out of here so I can go eat chow. Go!"
From nowhere in particular a voice said, "Skip the potatoes and lose 20 pounds."
Matthew Tomlinson is incarcerated at the William P. Clements Jr. Unit in Amarillo.
Click here to return to story:
© The Amarillo Globe-News Online
November 27th, 2005
BLIND CORRUPTION
Lets talk about Texas prisons, a warehouse for the poor
They spend up all the tax dollars, then come cryin for more
It's our children that suffer; they don't have books to read
Our elders suffer too, they don't have medical needs
They say its politicians, being tough on crime
It's not their family suffering; it's yours and mine
They shut down public schools while prisons run with no interruption
That's not POLITICS……….. That's BLIND CURRUPTION
Now the system is so big, they have to keep the beds full
So they send our kids to prison, instead of sending them to school
Once you're in the system, there is no such thing as parole.
But if you cause them trouble, they're sure to let you go
You say that can't be right, how could it be that way?
If you're skilled and make them money, they're sure to make you stay
They say its politicians, being tough on crime
It's not their wasted money; it's yours and mine
They point at all the criminals, and use that as deception
That's not politics, that's BLIND CORRUPTION
There are things we fail to see and there are things they fail to say
But things will get much worse, if we don't get involved today
Go register to vote, let state officials hear your voice
Be sure to let them know, that you DO have a choice
What happened to the rights, of the U.S. Constitution?
They've all just disappeared, but there is one JUST resolution
The U.S. Federal Government, needs to stop all the destruction
But they look the other way, that's BLIND CORRUPTION
Written By;
May 18th, 2005 To The Eagel Speaks Committee, Dear Concerned Citizens, 4] There is a caged in restroom within the visitation
area suitable for use by ad seg inmates, so the lack
of facilities isn't an issue. Ferguson Ad Seg Prisoner
Thank you! E-Mail -- Ferguson Prisoner
September 28th, 2004
To The Editor, Dear Editor, Sincerely,
September 5th, 2004
To The Editor, Dear Editor, Sincerely,
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