tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post4774502420840618375..comments2024-03-15T05:45:01.402-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Perry scuttles Willingham arson inquiry with new Forensic Commission appointment: John BradleyGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-44107328991201839312009-10-02T10:19:03.290-05:002009-10-02T10:19:03.290-05:00Leaving aside the criminal justice aspects of all ...Leaving aside the criminal justice aspects of all this - and it's not that I don't feel strongly about Perry's actions as suggesting an attempt to cover up a wrongful conviction - this speaks volumes about his contempt for the professionals who took on the task of serving on the Commission, apparently giving their services pro bono. This would be no way to treat paid employees - to treat those doing voluntary public service sends an horrendous message to anyone considering volunteering to help others. Not least lawyers, who are urged to do pro bono service. Shockingly bad manners and bad judgment, Governor Perry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-54632003889952791842009-10-02T09:41:30.784-05:002009-10-02T09:41:30.784-05:00"Next time we create a Forensic Science Commi..."Next time we create a Forensic Science Commission shouldn't it be staffed by, you know, scientists."<br /><br />Oh, and from the Star-telegram article today:<br /><br />"Sam and I were the two lawyers. Everybody else was a scientist," Levy said.Ryan Paigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12171317748419259984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-85410204704930837462009-10-02T08:34:19.429-05:002009-10-02T08:34:19.429-05:00"Next time we create a Forensic Science Commi..."Next time we create a Forensic Science Commission shouldn't it be staffed by, you know, scientists."<br /><br />Or, you know, when it hires scientists to study an issue for them, perhaps they should not cancel the meetings (and question whether they'll ever take place) in which they get to hear the science?<br /><br />I can't imagine that Gov. Perry wanted scientists on this commission, either.Ryan Paigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12171317748419259984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-16059765019034305282009-10-01T22:48:29.718-05:002009-10-01T22:48:29.718-05:00This is outrageous! Get out the torches & pit...This is outrageous! Get out the torches & pitchforks.Lucy Frosthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08189809102571933507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-70522316907044925942009-10-01T16:15:52.712-05:002009-10-01T16:15:52.712-05:00Karo, you're the one who won't listen to t...Karo, you're the one who won't listen to the scientists, your comment at 3:17 is a bad joke. <br /><br />As for the timing vs. the pick, you're the only one who's splitting hairs. Perry appointed someone who would squelch the investigation instead of further it and the timing was specifically to stop Friday's hearing. I object to all of it. It was a politicized, ham handed power play. <br /><br />It's a good thing you're trolling anonymously because your arguments are so bad and self-contradictory you're starting to embarrass yourself.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-71340471832636743692009-10-01T15:17:03.870-05:002009-10-01T15:17:03.870-05:00Next time we create a Forensic Science Commission ...Next time we create a Forensic Science Commission shouldn't it be staffed by, you know, scientists. <br /><br />I wonder why Perry ever appointed any lawyers to this post?Karonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-79562053869619083852009-10-01T15:11:31.109-05:002009-10-01T15:11:31.109-05:00I remain skeptical that the guy who proclaimed tha...I remain skeptical that the guy who proclaimed that post-conviction DNA testing as "attempt[s] to manipulate the criminal justice system" has any kind of open mind in relation to science or just about anything really.Ryan Paigehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12171317748419259984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-86110923567801110692009-10-01T15:01:18.526-05:002009-10-01T15:01:18.526-05:00Yesterday I read an article about Todd Willingham&...Yesterday I read an article about Todd Willingham's case in the September 7, 2009 edition of The New Yorker. Last night I happened upon "Dead Man Walking" on television. The coincidence cannot be ignored. <br /><br />I am upset and outraged that an innocent man was executed and that the current Texas governor is manipulating the system to meet his own agenda. Every citizen of Texas should be outraged and I hope they are planning to storm the Capitol and express themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-19037491604537756842009-10-01T14:52:18.684-05:002009-10-01T14:52:18.684-05:00Doran I already agreed with your assessment that P...Doran I already agreed with your assessment that Perry is a political hack who is willing to use a State Agency for his own political purposes.Karonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-42539151991495429682009-10-01T14:45:41.039-05:002009-10-01T14:45:41.039-05:00O Mighty KARO:
You've told us from whence our...O Mighty KARO:<br /><br />You've told us from whence our outrage springs; you've told us what we were really thinking about; you've told us what we would have done if some fantasy future of yours had come to pass. BUT, you haven't told us why Perry did what he did and when he did. So, O Might KARO, apply to the Guv's thought processes, such as they are, the same skills you have applied to others on this thread, such as they are, and tell us why Perry did what he did when he did what he did.dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-44968378404996903042009-10-01T14:27:26.980-05:002009-10-01T14:27:26.980-05:00Is anyone surprised by the govenor's actions? ...Is anyone surprised by the govenor's actions? Shouldn't be! Wouldn't it be great is Texas would secede from the union! Then they could go back to back woods justice and just start lynching people that they suspect of crimes...why bother with expensive investigations and trials?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-15472146725414963902009-10-01T14:24:38.098-05:002009-10-01T14:24:38.098-05:00Grits the title YOU gave this thread mentions Brad...Grits the title YOU gave this thread mentions Bradley but <b>not the timing</b>.<br /><br />Are you seriously claiming that the timing is the real outrage here rather than the replacement of Innocence Network Bassett with Der Kommissar Bradley?<br /><br />Would you also be as outraged on the timing if Bassett had been replaced by Barry Scheck?<br /><br />My guess is that the REAL outrage has yet to come. The study of arson investigations may lie outside the scope of TFSC's charter. If Bradley scuttles the whole thing on this basis then you've got some REAL outrage instead of this manufactured propaganda.Karonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-60804735014232978642009-10-01T13:45:14.079-05:002009-10-01T13:45:14.079-05:00Who voted this idiot into office? Oh, yeah! It was...Who voted this idiot into office? Oh, yeah! It was the idiots in Texas!!! ha!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-37496392799527922622009-10-01T12:12:37.651-05:002009-10-01T12:12:37.651-05:00Karo, it's comments like the one you left at 9...Karo, it's comments like the one you left at 9:11 about Bassett - pure, fact-free smear - that let us all know you're not actually a serious voice.<br /><br />The gal who phoned in the hoax phone call to the YFZ Ranch was an Obama delegate, too. That doesn't make her, or you, a credible person.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-47582156393302817202009-10-01T10:55:06.340-05:002009-10-01T10:55:06.340-05:00I guess Karo should set up a 1-800 number along wi...I guess Karo should set up a 1-800 number along with Ms. Cleo as evideced by his ability to read people's minds!<br /><br />Please. <br /><br />Had this decision come on 9/1, I'm not sure we'd be having the same dicussion. The facts remain the same, no matter how you'd like to spin it, Karo.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-9260962423662100762009-10-01T10:45:17.103-05:002009-10-01T10:45:17.103-05:0010:28 You are right on. That;s why I chuckled at...10:28 You are right on. That;s why I chuckled at the comments made by Mr. Munoz at TCJS in the following Grits post. He clearly does not know who runs the county courthouse and the criminal justice system. And you hit a home run when regarding your comment about ignorant voters. They are so uniformed when it comes to electing these local officials. <br /><br />THURSDAY, OCTOBER 01, 2009<br />More jail inspections unannounced, TCJS creating catalog of best practices<br />"What we are advocating, although we can't tell you how to do it, is if you want to reduce your jail population, find alternative ways to deal with inmates. Talk to your district judges; talk to your district attorneys; talk to your probation officers; talk to anybody and everybody that has control over alternatives, either sentencing or incarceration." <br />Munoz advocated holding judges accountable for speedy dockets. "The sooner you get that inmate out of jail the sooner you are going to reduce overcrowding." He said that also goes for alternatives to jail time as a sentence, for processes like electronic monitoring.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-53429694888139713092009-10-01T10:28:40.431-05:002009-10-01T10:28:40.431-05:00Question to all here who dislike John Bradley, why...Question to all here who dislike John Bradley, why do you suppose he has run unopposed the last two elections?<br /><br />I don't know anything about Bradley but I've seen the same thing happen in Smith County. Jack Skeen was the DA for many years and I don't know that he ever had an opponent despite the fact that his office routinely engaged in all types of misconduct. In 2000 there was a series of articles in the Houston Chronicle about misconduct in his office. But, Houston is a long ways from Tyler and most people in SMith County don't read the Houston paper. The local paper is his best friend and refuses to print anything negative about him or the DA's office. He was appointed to a district judge seat by Perry a few years ago (despite his well document unethical behavior) and has not had an opponent for that office either. <br /><br />Why? I think there are a few reasons. First, Smith County has a well controlled and very powerful political machine. Anyone who dared oppose it would be attacked in many ways. Most people who may be able to run are afraid to. For example, you have to be an attorney to run and any attorney who opposed Skeen would surely find himself ostracized in the legal community. Second, as mentioned above the local press won't report on anything negative about Skeen. As a judge Skeen doesn't even try to hide his bias. He isn't any more ethical now than he was as a DA. But, most voters don't know. Skeen uses his incestuous relationship with the local paper to get his name in the paper as often as possible (at least 3 or 4 times as much as any other judge in the county). And of course its always positive. Most voters are simply ignorant of what is really going on in the courthouse. Another factor is that this political machine goes out of its way to keep law enforcement on its side so they are assured of having the support of the considerable number of law enforcement officers in the county. <br /><br />I don't know about Bradley, but I know in Smith County the combination of a powerful political machine, a biased press, and ignorant voters have kept a man who should be in prison himself in office.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-62366467468746949622009-10-01T10:23:58.992-05:002009-10-01T10:23:58.992-05:00I was a freaking Obama delegate but somehow anyone...I was a freaking Obama delegate but somehow anyone that disagrees with you is conservative? Sure. Doran has only managed to out himself as a fool with false presumptions. <br /><br />Perry has always been a political hack who is willing to use a State Agency for his own political purposes. How exactly do you think he became governor? Don't you recall his relationship with Governor Shrub? <br /><br />I support reforms to increase the amount of real justice the Justice System but you knee-jerk guys are going "all-in" on a weak case and <b>crying wolf</b> over Willingham will make it harder to get real justice when the time comes.Karonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-91391800534966002242009-10-01T10:13:49.495-05:002009-10-01T10:13:49.495-05:00Question to all here who dislike John Bradley, why...Question to all here who dislike John Bradley, why do you suppose he has run unopposed the last two elections?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-59037795395389086762009-10-01T09:27:35.772-05:002009-10-01T09:27:35.772-05:00The Mighty KARO. Another one of them omniscient c...The Mighty KARO. Another one of them omniscient conservatives who knows exactly what the rest of us are thinking and what we would have done IF.......<br /><br />Karo, the important point is to try to stay current and with a good grasp on reality. What we have done is out Perry as a political hack who is willing to use a State Agency for his own political purposes, and out you as an apologist for him.dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-46275493622159055332009-10-01T09:11:36.558-05:002009-10-01T09:11:36.558-05:00Give me a break.
You guys would be feigning the s...Give me a break.<br /><br />You guys would be feigning the same outrage if your Innocence Network insider Bassett had been replaced by prosecutor Bradley on 9/1 instead of on 9/30. The issue of timing is a red herring; your complaint it with personnel.<br /><br />Just like you would be crying a river if the meeting had not been postponed except then you're complaint would be that a third of the commissions couldn't possibly be prepared for such an important hearing. <br /><br />Quick, somebody call the <a href="http://www.thewambulance.com/" rel="nofollow">Wambulance</a>.Karonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-4715182603381726422009-10-01T08:40:30.757-05:002009-10-01T08:40:30.757-05:00Bad timing Governor Good Hair.
More importanrly, ...Bad timing Governor Good Hair.<br /><br />More importanrly, this move was nothing more than a political stunt on your part. <br /><br />The member's terms expired 9-1, yet you waited almost one month to usher in their replacements. <br /><br />Why not do what you really want and do away with the commission altogether?<br /><br />Shameful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-85850594133178849112009-10-01T08:23:45.701-05:002009-10-01T08:23:45.701-05:00I have a couple of friends who used to be DA's...I have a couple of friends who used to be DA's in Wilco. When Grits writes a particularly amusing bit about Bradley (amusing in a black, hope devouring kind of way), I send it to them and hope they will say something to make me feel better about this filthy snake pit. "Do something Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-esque!", I cry. They just laugh mirthlessly and tell me to move the hell out of there as fast as I can. I really wish someone with a solid grasp of what the justice system is actually supposed to be would run that rabid dog out of office next election.R. Shackelfordnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-60979430408379833502009-10-01T07:41:13.433-05:002009-10-01T07:41:13.433-05:00BTW 6:02/6:12, I noticed you (accidentally?) left ...BTW 6:02/6:12, I noticed you (accidentally?) left the same verbiage in the <a href="http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2009/09/craig-watkins-learns-golden-rule-of.html?showComment=1254395761737#c3130677540470089897" rel="nofollow">comments to this post,</a>, but all in the same comment. Here you present the statements as different commenters playing off each other though they obviously have the same author. Trolling is one thing, but try to avoid having phony conversations with yourself. This is cheap, cowardly hackery; please stop.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-33139390540371288852009-10-01T07:10:04.681-05:002009-10-01T07:10:04.681-05:006:12, it's because I cover these issues every ...6:12, it's because I cover these issues every day so my readers know who John Bradley IS. Raw Story is a more generalist site.<br /><br />Also, for the record, this blog is unaffiliated with the Innocence Project in any way. They're my former employer but that's it. This is a personal blog; I write about what interests me regarding Texas criminal justice politics and policy. Hence the different focus from Raw Story or even the Innocence Project. I ain't them.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.com