tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post1975639403981011687..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Judges explain need for bail reform; Exonerated, Exonerating; and other storiesGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-9254168973278942692018-05-03T09:30:30.209-05:002018-05-03T09:30:30.209-05:0050 years for fajita meat, c'mon now that's...50 years for fajita meat, c'mon now that's just a tad ridicules. Which it just proves what I've said for years, Texas is all about convictions because they make money from each and every one of them!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-54224239551567667202018-04-25T07:21:58.919-05:002018-04-25T07:21:58.919-05:00Wow.
I pointed out that 1. The lady had a prior fe...Wow.<br />I pointed out that 1. The lady had a prior felony; and 2. The JP guy got a plea bargain -- and 6:41 accuses me of being a racist.<br /><br />Nice crowd, Scott.James S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-1746546982570325642018-04-25T06:41:27.429-05:002018-04-25T06:41:27.429-05:00I bet he does have some minority opinions alright....I bet he does have some minority opinions alright...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-74927646732292936582018-04-25T06:31:27.897-05:002018-04-25T06:31:27.897-05:00Yes, James, I CAN and DO think it's irrational...Yes, James, I CAN and DO think it's irrational for you to infer anything about a "protected class" from my comments. I didn't say it. And the fact that you can't let it go DEFINITELY says more about you than it does about my positions. It's just stupid.<br /><br />This blog has railed against a corrupted plea bargain system for years, so I feel perfectly justified including the judge's light sentence in the critique, ESPECIALLY in the context of the excessive trial penalty for the gal.<br /><br />Maybe you can't see the basis for comparison, but the Fort Worth Star Telegram does, along with many other commentators, apparently so perhaps you can agree that yours is a minority opinion which I disagree with and leave it at that.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-72453921632382979152018-04-25T04:37:41.981-05:002018-04-25T04:37:41.981-05:00At the time I was convicted of a murder I didn'...At the time I was convicted of a murder I didn't commit, no one could vote in any election after being convicted of even the least felony. Now the laws are so murky and complicated that the only safe course for someone with a conviction is to abstain from voting until pardoned, which in my case means waiting until 2088 unless the CCA allows the DNA laws passed by the Lege to be implemented as written. The jury in the voting fraud case was only acting on the information placed before them by the counselors on both sides. I can't blame them. My guess is the only way to correct our justice system is to grant the tryer of fact the power to question and call, even subpoena, witnesses.Steven Michael Seyshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07809935502307219692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-55657737021563747952018-04-24T21:19:26.801-05:002018-04-24T21:19:26.801-05:00I have no doubt you didn't mean it the way I t...I have no doubt you didn't mean it the way I took it, but you can't seriously think that it's irrational to have taken it the way that I did. After all, the point to the post was to emphasize how unfair was the contrast between probation for this white JP dude and this black woman -- and using the phrase "formerly incarcerated" in parallel with "black." If you didn't intend it to be sympathetic, I'm not sure what the purpose was.<br /><br />I guess my point to the whole thing is that they aren't really comparable. As much as I can't stand that god-awful woman (D.A. Sharen Wilson) grandstanding about this case in that indecipherable screech she has, it's hard to blame this outcome on the D.A.'s office -- unless, as i guess we agree, we wanna indict the whole plea bargain system for the juicy deal that JP got.James S.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-12787785226719755902018-04-24T15:09:37.711-05:002018-04-24T15:09:37.711-05:00@ James S, nowhere did I say "formerly incarc...@ James S, nowhere did I say "formerly incarcerated" is a "protected class." If you read what I wrote that way, it says MUCH more about you than it does any of my stances here.<br /><br />Ftm, you seem to "probably agree" with me that "the State didn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she intended to illegally vote." So apart from the piece you made up out of whole cloth, I can't tell exactly where we disagree.<br /><br />Yes, the trial penalty is one sucky part, but just one. The tolerance shown toward one person TRULY trying to fix an election compared to another one who simply didn't understand voting requirements adds an additional layer of politicization to these election-related cases.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-16850901369591736922018-04-24T14:15:37.452-05:002018-04-24T14:15:37.452-05:00About Crystal Mason....
I'm kinda surprised t...About Crystal Mason....<br /><br />I'm kinda surprised that you went the way you did on analyzing this, and not an even more obvious direction: our plea bargain system that normally discourages people from going to trial. Mason went to trial thinking that she could convince a jury that she didn't mean to. But she got ridiculously punished for doing so.<br /><br />On the other hand, you call her "formerly incarcerated" like it's some kind of protected class. It isn't. That's probably why probation wasn't on the table during plea bargaining (and why she went to the judge for punishment -- probation was still an option with him). Plus, it was a fraud-related conviction, so, yeah, that doesn't look good.<br /><br />Also, you say she lacked mens rea. Well, maybe, but that's not what the jury decided. I probably agree with you that the State didn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she intended to illegally vote. But that's why we have trials.<br /><br />So, I don't think there's a lot to compare in these cases. This dumb-ass JP was suddenly smart enough to realize he was screwed and took the easy way out. I'm also assuming he didn't have a prior felony conviction. Mason, as a convicted felon, had fewer options -- and chose to fight it out.<br /><br />I think the suckiest part is that she basically gets screwed for going to trial. OTOH, illegal voting is a 2 - 20 year range, right? I guess it coulda been worse.James S.noreply@blogger.com