Roundup: In search of miracles, coming up empty

Here are several items that haven't made it into their own, individual blog posts while I've been focused  at the Lege, but which merit Grits readers' attention:

Non-DNA cases nearly require 'miracle' to exonerate
Grits has frequently discussed how DNA exonerations are really just a sampling of actually innocent people in prison, since DNA evidence exists in fewer than 10% of violent crimes and often was not preserved in older cases. The Texas Observer's Laura Burke recently published a story of just such a case where the state relied on a jailhouse snitch and failed to turn over exculpatory evidence (a statement from a now-deceased witness declaring "He didn't do it") to convict a man of murder. His one, pro se habeas writ failed and while the story raises many haunting questions, years after the fact there appears simply to not be enough evidence to exonerate. Concludes Burke, "For every person exonerated for a crime they didn’t commit, there are many like James Legate: questionable cases, bulldozed through a flawed system, with no recourse left. Only a miracle could exonerate him."

Parole officers seek ministers' reentry help
Reports the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Tarrant County parole officers appealed to ministers Tuesday to help them cast a wider net.  Parole officers who once focused on capturing parole violators and returning them to prison are now setting their sights on finding resources to help parolees stay on the outside. Parolees need jobs and places to live -- things that ministers help members of their flocks with every day." Smart idea.

Don't ban "a plant that God made"
Freshman Republican David Simpson killed a bill banning Salvia Divinorum today on religious grounds, arguing the state shouldn't make it illegal to be "possessing a plant that God made," particularly if it is used by some for religious purposes. He declared what's needed is "parental responsibility," not legal bans. Quite a remarkable stance given that in 2009, 58% of all drug arrest in Texas were for marijuana, most for user-level amounts. I wonder if, in the mind of the representative, the same analysis translates? Salvia smokers needn't celebrate, though, as the bill sponsor successfully attached the measure to another piece of legislation soon thereafter.

Police Monitor sought harsher punishment for SWAT members
Reports the Austin Statesman, "Austin Police Monitor Margo Frasier recommended harsher discipline than what several officers received after a member of the department’s SWAT team last year left a party, crashed his unmarked patrol car and was charged with drunken driving."

Teachers to be notified of felonious students
Reacting to incidents in Austin and Tyler, the Senate this week approved a bill that "would require teachers to be alerted when they have students in their class who have been arrested or accused of serious crimes." The law already required oral notification but now it must be in writing and requires administrators to inform teachers who have direct supervisory authority over the student.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em, inmates: Smith County smoking ban excludes jail
In my hometown, Smith County Commissioners implemented a smoking ban in and near all county buildings EXCEPT for inmates in the jail, reports the website Texas Watchdog. "The court briefly flirted with a smoking ban in jail until reminded by Smith County Chief Deputy Bobby Garmon that the inmates, nearly 100 percent of whom smoke, started a small but violent riot the last time Sheriff J.B. Smith issued a ban. 'Aside from the commissary and visitation, cigarettes are my best tool to keep these inmates under control,' Smith told the court. 'You take that away from a cell full of men, and they will be fighting all day long.'” Meanwhile, legislators are poised to enact a statewide smoking ban for customers of bars and food purveyors licensed by local health departments (presumably with a new Class C criminal statute to enforce it), though the measure wouldn't affect jails. Cigarettes have been banned as contraband in Texas prisons for years. Relatedly, proving the fifth time to be the charm, Smith County voters finally approved a much-downsized jail expansion earlier this month.

Class action suit over jail healthcare in Abilene
Former inmates at the Taylor County Jail (Abilene) have filed a class action lawsuit related to alleged poor healthcare at the facility. One of the lead plaintiffs "claims to have suffered a broken back at the hands of jailers, the suit alleges, and now suffers from a permanent injury due to abuse and neglect by jail staff." The suit claims the jail deprived plaintiffs "of reasonable medical care and resulted in an impermissible punishment of these pretrial detainees in violation of their substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment for the United States Constitution."

Bail schedule contributing to Harris County jail crowding
Earlier this month, Murray Newman had an essay on the practice of requiring bail for penny ante misdemeanors, declaring "in my opinion, it is silly and oppressive to hold people in jail on low-level crimes while complaining of jail overcrowding in the next breath."

Staff turnover at jails monitored
Under legislation headed to the Governor, jails would be required to report to the Commission on Jail Standards how many staff members leave their jobs every month

Deporting jail visitors?
Since Barack Obama came into power, a common theme from his Administration has been that they wanted to focus scarce immigration enforcement resources on illegal immigrants in jail instead of workers, criticizing the Bush Administration for diverting US Attorneys on the border from actual crime fighting activities. The so-called Secure Communities push has since been criticized for casting its net too broadly, but apparently there's an effort behind the scenes to expand the program further from those in jail to their family members. In San Antonio, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently sought permission to check the residency status of visitors to the Bexar County Jail. The Sheriff said "no," but it's a safe bet Bexar isn't the only county in which Washington is seeking such an arrangement. Relatedly, San Antonio PD had refused to participate in the program ICE is mad that municipal courts in the Alamo City weren't contacting them on Class C tickets. But Republican state Sen. Tommy Williams helped out the Obama Administration this week by tacking an amendment onto another bill to require all law enforcement agencies to participate in Obama's Secure Communities initiative. His amendment also authorizes DPS to operate southbound checkpoints.

TDCJ staff fired for excessive force, contraband
Several firings at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice caught my attention recently. Three guards were fired and a fourth allowed to retire after charges of excessive force at the Neal Unit in Amarillo. And at The Back Gate, a website run by TDCJ prison staff, we learn that Maj. Julia Humphrey, wife of parole commissioner and former TYC administrator Billy Humphrey, was terminated for allegations related to contraband.

DA convicted of misusing seized assets
Former Jim Wells County DA Joe Frank Garza was convicted of running an asset forfeiture scam. He received 10 years probation, 180 days in jail, $10,000 fine, was ordered to pay restitution of $2,000,000 (how likely is that?), plus the episode cost him his law license. He was using forfeiture money to illegally boost his own pay and that of his employees.