Here are a few items that deserve Grits readers attention though I don't have time to fully write up each of them:
Okies come to call
Lawmakers from Oklahoma including their Speaker of the House are in Austin today to discuss Texas' criminal justice reforms aimed at reducing prison population growth. They'll be meeting with Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, state Sen. John Whitmire, state Rep. Jerry Madden, and Adam Gelb from the Pew Center on the States this afternoon, Gelb informed me this morning.
Not now, probably not ever
Though I'm not an attorney, I agree for the most part with Michael Landauer's assessment that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' ruling shutting down Houston Judge Kevin Fine's pretrial hearing on the constitutionality of the death penalty was arguably the right one. However, I must also agree with Landauer that, "Of course, the CCA won't allow challenges in the appeals process, either ... Nor will the CCA ever allow the appeals process to be used for truth-finding. The appeals process is a joke in Texas, a search for clerical errors and typos to be followed by the perfunctory rulings that the errors did not affect the outcome of the trial." That's quite true (and it reminds me that I still need to go back and read this academic article on the nexus of innocence, direct appeals and harmless error). See the CCA ruling here. Two judges dissented, but apparently not in writing.
Craig Watkins' wish list
KERA-TV details Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins' legislative agenda for 2011. Jim Schutze at the Dallas Observer points out that, despite winning reelection, 2010 was a bad year for the Dallas DA.
The Adam Walsh Act and unfunded mandates
Jordan Smith at the Austin Chronicle has a story on the Senate Criminal Justice Committee's recommendation, discussed on Grits here, that Texas decline to participate in the federal Adam Walsh Act which would create additional restrictions on and reporting requirements for sex offenders. State Sen. Royce West, Smith reports, has filed legislation that would implement the Adam Walsh Act, but it comes with a $39 million price tag that the Senate committee said wasn't worth the bang for the buck. UPDATE: An aide from Royce West's office lets me know that a substitute version of his bill will be filed that does not require compliance with the Adam Walsh Act. He said the legislation (SB 198) was filed before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee recommendation and "has the intent of allowing young adult offenders a chance to get off the registry - not add more people to it."
Arizona shootings highlight nexus of mental illness and crime
Reacting to the recent Arizona shootings, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published a story on the potential effects of suggested cuts to mental health services on crime and the justice system. Texas already ranks 49th among states in per capita mental health spending, the story notes, and the president of the Texas Medical Association declared that "Any further cuts will have potentially catastrophic effects."
Police employees can't keep seized property
At Mission PD in the Valley, "Less than a month after Mission city workers and police officers received thousands of dollars in seized property as gifts during holiday party door raffles, the Hidalgo County district attorney has recommended that everything be given back." Further, "The county's top prosecutor called the gift-giving 'illegal' and the chief's actions 'ignorant' of the law."
TDCJ phone revenue less than expected
Brandi Grissom at the Texas Tribune has a piece up revealing that TDCJ's new phone system is bringing in less revenue than expected, but this seems like a non-story to me. The higher estimates she quotes were made before the bill language was finalized and don't reflect the fact that legislators intentionally wanted to limit the amount of profiteering from prison phones. That's in part why any net revenues go to the crime victims fund instead of General Revenue.
Bronco Billy rides again
Billy Humphrey was a lightning rod for criticism when he worked as an administrator at the Texas Youth Commission. He recently published an odd little essay on Corrections.com titled "Juvenile Corrections: A Noble Cause and a Humbling Experience" that may interest Grits readers who recall his tenure. I hadn't realized until seeing the tagline to the article that Humphrey is "currently a Parole Commissioner for the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole."
Scott,
ReplyDeleteWhy do you refer to it as odd?
BB
BB, I said "odd" b/c Mr. Humphrey's written sentiments don't particularly match his stances while he served at TYC.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever spoken to Mr.Humphrey and heard his version of the overall experience, the reasons for many of his stances and why he was a lighting rod for criticism?
ReplyDeleteBB
Nope, I don't know the man beyond his public persona.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I already know why he was a lightning rod for criticism. Basically he and Dimitria Pope tried to come into TYC and run it along an adult prison model. Some of the stances in this column were arguments made by his critics back when he worked at TYC, particularly regarding use of force.
Thanks Scott. I always enjoy that photograph and reading that article. I hope we can discuss someday over lunch.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
BB
After meeting Billy, listening to Billy and watching Billy in action, I would just say that he needs to walk the talk. I cannot take issue with what he says in the article, but what he wrote is not the Billy we saw in action. Perhaps the biggest problem with Billy's tour in TYC is his shoot-from-the-hip decision-making and emotion-driven responses to crises. The folks on the front lines are still in recovery mode. (Not that the current leadership has helped a whole lot...)
ReplyDeleteBB,
ReplyDeleteIf you want another take on why this article you should talk to former and current administrative staff in both Central Office and in the field Mr. Humphrey screwed over to varying degrees. Take a look at some of his "appointments" to superintendent/assistant superintendent positions and their performance in those positions. He and the Pope ran TYC in much the same way that secret police units have done throughout history to purge their organizations of anyone who dared to think for him/herself or be anything but a blindly obedient, mindless automaton. In my estimation his written sentiments from this article are in no way indicative of his stated positions while at TYC in its darkest days and take fiction writing to a whole new level.
Oddly enough Mr. Humphrey never realized that youth are looking for an example in our staff. Staff quality of life is also a reflection of leadership. Take care of the staff and they will take care of the youth. Mr. Humphrey is an abusive manager. A tiger never changes its stripes. In fact he favored exposing youth to chemical agent for non compliance. He also was very fond of due process as he was releaved of his duties but didn't model basic due process for staff under his charge. We wish him well.
ReplyDeleteI guess Texas is not going to be happy until they get 100% of all non-violating sex offenders either in revolt, or in prison for bullshit charges.
ReplyDeletehere's the thing people, These laws don't affect JUST those on paper, they affect us all. Meaning that a non-offending individual for 30 years comes back under new and more harsh criteria. Fuck little Johnny and Suzie, I am talking about the 28 year old that picked the wrong girl up in the bar that woke up with buyers remorse. I am certainly not talking about the dad who has been violating his kid for 10 years either.
There has to be some recourse in all of these because eventually oppression becomes a revolt. Do any of you really want 700,000 pissed off people revolting? it will eventually get to this. I have made huge strides to stop my egomania over the last 13 years, i know a majority of others that have as well. We have accomplished much, and have become as productive as society will allow, but eventually the burden will become too much to bare. We have paid our debt already, either allow us to become full citizens again or eventually we will stop giving a shit about changing.
Minor point, but you do realize that "Okie" is derogatory?
ReplyDelete12:13, so Merle Haggard wasn't really "proud to be an Okie from Muskogee"? Who knew?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, most Texans know that the only good things to ever come out of Oklahoma were Jim Thorpe and I-35. ;)
mr. humphrey taught me one thing, and that is how to correctly apply pepper spray to a youth that would not comply with a "reasonable" demand. At least it was an inert agent that we used in the practice. i feared loosing my job and possibly be sprayed by him due to my own desire to be non compliant with this training. what was scarry was not this short little powerhouse, but his ability to push his way and abusive agenda with tacit approval from highly appointed and salaried workers appointed by perry. that was 3 years ago. it was all about power and control and not very smart. with the recent pay raises exposed, and my knowledge of persons that i believe still work there, i realize, texas and texans have no idea on how to deal with juvenile corrections.
ReplyDeleteGrits, you might also like to know that BH is an adjunct instructor at SHSU and a doctoral student in criminal justice there.
ReplyDeleteTHe issue with the CCA's error analysis reminded me of something an excellent criminal defense appellate attorney one told me: in Texas criminal law there are only two kinds of trial error: harmless and waived.
ReplyDeletewhatever happened to the former Dallas county judge indicted for bringing her purse into a TYC facility?
ReplyDelete