Monday, June 18, 2012

Father's Day behind bars, Michael Morton documentary, endangered Texas courthouses and other stories

Here are a few odds and ends that failed to make it into full posts but deserve Grits readers' attention.

Michael Morton documentary in works
A well-known filmmaker is taking on Michael Morton's story.

'Smiles and tears mark day for fathers behind bars'
The Houston Chronicle has a story on Father's Day for dads behind bars. Around half of TDCJ inmates are parents of minor children.

Water rationing at Connally Unit
The Connally Unit in Karnes County last week was forced to ration water because of low pressure in the local system. "Consumable water [was] being delivered in Igloo coolers from the water tanks to each living area. Quite often, it should be noted, TDCJ units are the largest water uses in their jurisdictions, something that began to put pressure on some rural water systems during last year's drought.

Make 'em prove it
Defense attorney Adam Reposa calls for attorneys to take more cases to trial to force the state to pay full freight for high incarceration volumes.

Steroids case v. Roger Clemens still BS
Grits argued four years ago after Congressional hearings over Roger Clemens' alleged steroid use that the proceedings were an abuse of power and the evidence against him wasn't enough to convict in a perjury trial. As Clemens' second perjury trial nears its grueling end, reporter Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle reached the same conclusion: Someone is lying, though it's impossible to say who, and "That, almost assuredly, is reasonable doubt." We'll soon see what the jury says. UPDATE: Clemens was acquitted.

Endangered Texas courthouses
See a pictorial review from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

NAS literature review on forensic science
See a literature review of publications reacting to the 2009 NAS report on forensic science.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it is ridiculous that Congress is spending time on whether a baseball player took steroids. None of the government's business!

Gritsforbreakfast said...

11:03, it's DOJ now doing the prosecution; Congress was four years ago. But it's still a ridiculous waste. Between all the liars actually IN Congress, not to mention all the times various government officials and corporate bigwigs have been allowed to testify NOT under oath and emitted falsehoods, the irony of taking this case to trial not once but twice seems outrageous, pointless, and political.

FWIW, Grits has argued in the past that "My personal view is that steroids, like marijuana, pose modest risks that are knowingly taken by those using the substances, and probably should be legalized" for adults.

ckikerintulia said...

Re: endangered courthouses. Swisher County had one of those historic courthouses built in twentieth century. There was a fire a few years back, in the '60s or maybe '70s, in an era of "modernization," and the commissioners decided it was better to build a new, "modern" looking one. It is utterly without architectural character. The old one could have been restored for no more maybe less than building a new one; the old one was not destroyed in the fire. It had a clock tower at the top, with four clocks facing N E S and W. A lot of architectural character. But that was not appreciated in those prosperous days of modernization,

Anne Roberts said...

I think celebrating Father's Day behind bars is hard but at the same time something to be glad about for both fathers and children of these inmates.

Ashley Casas said...

The steroid topic is really a waste of time, furthermore they could have a lot the time taking a more legal issues than this. They could be more productive if they will talk about issues that make sense, e.g., economy issue.