Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Chuck Rosenthal is a big jerk

Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal has shown his colors in the case of Josiah Sutton, an innocent man convicted of rape by Rosenthal's office who DNA evidence cleared last year. Govenor Perry pardoned Sutton, but Mike Ward at the Statesman reports that Rosenthal is flaunting a state law permitting reimbursement of convicted innocents by refusing to grant a pro forma letter in the case, even though DNA evidence conclusively proved Sutton was not the rapist. Science, the courts and the Governor think Mr. Sutton isn't guilty, in other words, but the Houston DA won't admit it.

Pride, Mr. Rosenthal, goest before a fall.


It should have never come to this. Legislation authored by Houston Sen. Rodney Ellis should have allowed an inmate proven innocent to be reimbursed $25,000 for each year of wrongful incarceration, a pittance compared to the injustice done them, but that's Texas' law. In 2003, though, Ward reports, "One Tough Grandma" Comptroller Carole Strayhorn snuck a provision into an omnibus bill requiring prosecutors submit a letter prior to the reimbursement being issued, and the Houston District Attorney's office predictably doesn't want to play ball. Jerk.

UPDATE: Sen. Ellis' bill to take that authority away from Mr. Rosenthal passed out of committee today, I'm told.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's just take Chuck Rosenthal out of office. I think you would see a big difference in the number of people convicted and sent to prison if he is removed from office. What a JERK he is!! All he wants is to win and he does not care what he does to families just so he looks good. What an insult he is to the court sytem.

While we are taking him out, remove his whole staff and start over. Some there have been there working with him so long, they think the say way he does. Harris County could use a different reputation than they have now, which is the "hanging county of Texas". This DA and some of the Judges associated with him have truly taken justice out of their vocabularies and it is time for a change. AMEN!!

Anonymous said...

He should die actually. Hopefully from the plague. Chuck is shit.

Anonymous said...

What a jerk? Like Hitler or Stalin was a jerk? How about die Chuck. Die in and rot and in hell you piece of racist sexist rotten garbage. You are not a human. Between you and the toilet paper; the paper is worth more to society.