March 19
TEXAS:
Current Status TX Death Penalty Legislation
Three major event happened this past week.
Senate Criminal Justice favorably recommended Senator Lucio's SB 60
to create the additional sentence of life without parole in capital
cases. This was the first bill considered by the Committee. Senator
Lucio believes that he has 20 of the necessary 21 votes (of 31)
necessary to call the bill for consideration on the Senate floor.
Senator Lucio is working his colleagues and working with advocates to
sway persuadables.
House Criminal Jurisprudence - in less than four minutes, without
testimony - approved Rep. Harold Dutton's HB 434 to bring Texas
statute in compliance with the Simmons ruling. As noted last week,
Rep. Dutton considered this a house keeping move in line with Texas'
general tradition of correcting statutory language to conform with
final court rulings.
Also this week, the House approved on second reading Rep. Terry
Keel's HB 268, dealing with state habeas corpus proceedings. Reform
advocates have had serious concerns with the bill. Some issues were
resolved with the agreed addition of a floor amendment. Advocates
aniticipate further improvements during Senate consideration. The
bill will be heard on third reading (final passage) this coming week
in the House before moving to the Senate.
HB 268 involves highly technical issues. Please let me know if you
have questions about this.
For the coming week, no death penalty bills are scheduled for
consideration by the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
On the Ease side of the Capitol, no essential death penalty
legislation will be heard, but Senate Criminal Justice will take up
three bills of interest, listed below:
SB 87 Ellis / et al.
Relating to the administrative procedure for compensation for
wrongful imprisonment.
SB 603 Ellis / et al.
Relating to the right of a foreign national to contact a foreign
consular official.
SB 695 Ogden
Relating to the forfeiture of good conduct time from inmates who
file frivolous applications for writ of habeas corpus.
To read any bill, look at committee postings, or find a wealth of
information go to:
www.capitol.state.tx.us
- - - - -
HB 48 Keel Relating to disposal of an exhibit in a capital
case.
Specific Remarks: This bill relates to requirements of district
clerks
to maintain evidence, a very legitimate issue. Some defense lawyers have
concerns they hope to address
Bill History: 11-08-04 H Filed
01-27-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 61 McClendon Relating to the punishment for a
capital felony
committed by a person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
committing the felony.
Companions: HB 333 (I) SB 226 (I)
Specific Remarks: The Dutton bill (HB 434) will be heard March 8.
Increases age limit for death penalty eligibility to 18 years of age.
Bill History: 11-08-04 H Filed
01-27-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 66 McClendon Relating to the punishment for a
capital offense.
Specific Remarks: Sen. Lucio is prime sponsor. He is working with
Goolsby in Hs. (HB 284).
Bill History: 11-08-04 H Filed
01-27-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 93 Riddle Relating to the showing the cause of death
on the death
certificate of an inmate of the Department of Criminal Justice who is
lawfully executed.
Specific Remarks: Changes cause of death noted on death certificate.
Has been introduced before and failed to advance.
Bill History: 11-09-04 H Filed
01-31-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Corrections
03-03-05 H Meeting set for 10:30 A.M. or Adj., E2.016 House Corrections
03-03-05 H Committee action pending House Corrections
03-10-05 H Voted favorably from committee on House Corrections
03-15-05 H Reported favorably from committee on House Corrections
HB 268 Keel Relating to the qualifications and
appointment of
counsel for indigent defendants in capital cases.
Bill History: 01-03-05 H Filed
02-01-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
03-01-05 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. or Adj., E2.016 House Criminal
Jurisprudence
03-01-05 H Voted favorably from committee as amended House Criminal
Jurisprudence
03-07-05 H Reported favorably from committee as amended House Criminal
Jurisprudence
03-17-05 H Set on the House Calendar
03-17-05 H Laid out for discussion
03-17-05 H 1 Committee amendment(s) adopted
03-17-05 H 2 Floor amendment(s) adopted
03-17-05 H Passed to third reading (Vote: Y:145/N: 3)
HB 284 Goolsby Relating to the punishment for a capital
offense.
Companions: HB 454 (I)
Specific Remarks: Goolsby companion to SB 60. LWoP as thrid option.
Bill History: 01-04-05 H Filed
02-02-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 333 Burnam Relating to the punishment for a capital
felony
committed by a person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
committing the felony.
Companions: HB 61 (I)
Specific Remarks: Burnam Juv Bill. Dutton bill (HB 431) will be
heard by
House Criminal Jurisprudence March 8.
Bill History: 01-07-05 H Filed
02-02-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 408 Dutton Relating to jury selection in capital
cases.
Specific Remarks: Dutton bill calls for separate sentencing phase
jury.
Bill History: 01-13-05 H Filed
02-03-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 419 Keel Relating to the applicability of the death
penalty to a
capital offense committed by a person with mental retardation.
Companions: SB 65 (I)
Specific Remarks: Determination of mr by capital trial jury in
sentencing phase, advanced by some prosecutors. No indication the Senate
will take up this issue.
Bill History: 01-13-05 H Filed
02-03-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 431 Dutton Relating to the admissibility of certain
evidence in
capital cases in which the state seeks the death penalty.
Specific Remarks: Dutton bill relates to informant or accomplice
testimony.
Bill History: 01-13-05 H Filed
02-03-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 432 Dutton Relating to the creation of a commission
to study
capital punishment in Texas and to a moratorium on executions.
Specific Remarks: Button study cmsn/moratorium bill.
General Remarks: Dutton study commission and moratorium bill. The
Naishtat/Shapleigh study cmsn bill is the one endorsed by the State Bar
of Texas.
Bill History: 01-13-05 H Filed
02-03-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 434 Dutton Relating to the punishment for a capital
felony
committed by a person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
committing the felony.
Specific Remarks: Dutton bill (HB 431) will be heard by House
Criminal
Jurisprudence March 8.
Bill History: 01-13-05 H Filed
02-03-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
03-08-05 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M., E2.016 House Criminal Jurisprudence
03-15-05 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. or Adj., E2.016 House Criminal
Jurisprudence
03-15-05 H Voted favorably from committee on House Criminal Jurisprudence
03-18-05 H Reported favorably from committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 450 Dutton Relating to the admissibility of certain
confessions
in capital cases.
Specific Remarks: Dutton custodial interrogation recording bill.
Bill History: 01-14-05 H Filed
02-03-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 452 Dutton Relating to the abolition of the death
penalty.
Specific Remarks: Dutton abolition bill.
Bill History: 01-14-05 H Filed
02-03-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 454 Dutton Relating to the punishment for a capital
offense.
Companions: HB 284 (I)
Specific Remarks: Dutton two option LWoP. capital life sentence not
eligible for parole.
Bill History: 01-14-05 H Filed
02-07-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 456 Dutton Relating to the punishment for a capital
offense.
Specific Remarks: Dutton LWoP as second option. Changes current law,
would make capital life sentence ineligible for parole.
Bill History: 01-14-05 H Filed
02-07-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 458 Dutton Relating to standards for judicial review
of certain
writes of habeas corpus in capital cases.
Specific Remarks: Dutton bill - standard of evidence in state
habeas.
Other substantive legislation will be introduced by other sponsors.
Bill History: 01-14-05 H Filed
02-07-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 493 Naishtat Relating to the creation of a
commission to study
capital punishment in Texas.
Companions: SB 544 (I)
Specific Remarks: Naishtat Study Cmsn bill. Companion is SB 544 by
Shapleigh. Part of State Bar legislative package.
Bill History: 01-19-05 H Filed
02-07-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 646 Otto Relating to the provision of certain
reports and records
requested by the attorney general.
Bill History: 01-27-05 H Filed
02-08-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Judiciary
03-21-05 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. or Adj., E2.028 House Judiciary
HB 696 Dutton Relating to jury selection in capital
cases.
Bill History: 01-31-05 H Filed
02-08-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 966 Haggerty Relating to the murder of a
commissioned security
officer as a capital offense.
Specific Remarks: Death penalty expansion bill by Haggerty. Makes
murder
of private security personnel a capital crime.
Bill History: 02-09-05 H Filed
02-14-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 2123 Naishtat Relating to consideration
applicable to a decision
to commute a sentence of death.
Bill History: 03-07-05 H Filed
03-14-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 2125 Naishtat Relating to the procedure
applicable to a decision
to commute a sentence of death.
Bill History: 03-07-05 H Filed
03-14-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 2165 Dunnam Relating to the sentencing procedures in
capital
felony cases.
Bill History: 03-07-05 H Filed
03-14-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HB 3396 Gallego Relating to the use of the substance
pancuronium
bromide to execute an inmate sentenced to death.
Bill History: 03-11-05 H Filed
HJR 14 Naishtat Relating to a moratorium on the
execution of persons
convicted of capital offenses.
Specific Remarks: Naishtat proposed constitutional amendment. Gives
governor moratorium authority.
Bill History: 11-08-04 H Filed
02-08-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HJR 24 McClendon Relating to establishing a
moratorium in death
penalty cases in which analyses performed by a crime laboratory operated
by the City of Houston Police Department were admitted into evidence.
Specific Remarks: McClendon. Rep. McClendon is from San Antonio and
has
proposed this constitional amendment for a moratorium on Harris County
executions.
Bill History: 01-04-05 H Filed
02-08-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
HJR 73 Coleman Relating to a moratorium on the execution
of persons
convicted of capital offenses.
Bill History: 03-10-05 H Filed
03-14-05 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Criminal
Jurisprudence
SB 60 Lucio Relating to the punishment for a capital
offense.
Specific Remarks: Lucio. LWoP as thrid sentencing option. HB 284 is
Hs.
companion.
Bill History: 11-08-04 S Filed
01-31-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
03-15-05 S Meeting set for 1:30 P.M. or adj., E1.016 Senate Criminal
Justice
03-15-05 S Voted favorably from committee as substituted Senate Criminal
Justice
03-16-05 S Reported from committee as substituted Senate Criminal Justice
SB 65 Staples Relating to the applicability of the death
penalty to
a capital offense committed by a person with mental retardation.
Companions: HB 419 (I)
Specific Remarks: Staples. Sen. Companion to HB 419. No indication
the
Senate will take up the issue.
Bill History: 11-08-04 S Filed
01-31-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 85 Ellis, Rodney Relating to the applicability of
the death
penalty to a capital offense committed by a person with mental
retardation.
Specific Remarks: Ellis. This is the model mr determination bill as
recommended by Prof. Jim Ellis; pre-trial determination. No indication
the Senate will take up this issue.
Bill History: 11-15-04 S Filed
01-31-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 226 Ellis, Rodney Relating to the punishment for a
capital felony
committed by a person who is younger than 18 years of age at the time of
committing the felony.
Companions: HB 61 (I)
Specific Remarks: Ellis. See HB 434.
Bill History: 01-21-05 S Filed
02-03-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 228 Ellis, Rodney Relating to the authority of the
governor to
grant one or more reprieves in a capital case.
Specific Remarks: Ellis. Allows governor to issue more than one
reprieve. Requires passage of SJR 11.
Bill History: 01-21-05 S Filed
02-03-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 231 Ellis, Rodney Relating to the applicability of
the death
penalty to a capital offense committed by a person with mental
retardation.
Specific Remarks: Ellis. Establishes procedure for those currently
on
death row to raise mr claim.
Bill History: 01-24-05 S Filed
02-03-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 544 Shapleigh Relating to the creation of a
commission to study
capital punishment in Texas.
Companions: HB 493 (I)
Bill History: 02-16-05 S Filed
02-28-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 548 Ellis, Rodney Relating to the manner in which
the Board of
Pardons and Paroles performs duties related to clemency in capital cases.
Bill History: 02-16-05 S Filed
02-28-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 741 Ellis, Rodney Relating to the decertification of
a capital case.
Bill History: 02-24-05 S Filed
03-10-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 925 Duncan Relating to competency to be executed in a
capital case.
Bill History: 03-03-05 S Filed
03-14-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
SB 1200 Ellis, Rodney Relating to information held by a
governmental
body regarding forensic evidence used in the trial of a person sentenced
to death if the evidence was tested by a forensic laboratory operated by
the certain police departments.
Bill History: 03-09-05 S Filed
SB 1507 Hinojosa Relating to the sentencing
procedure in capital
felony cases.
Bill History: 03-10-05 S Filed
SJR 11 Ellis, Rodney Relating to authorizing the
governor to grant
one or more reprieves in a capital case.
Specific Remarks: Ellis. See SB 228.
Bill History: 01-21-05 S Filed
02-07-05 S Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Criminal Justice
*************************
Deadly Smuggling Case to Head to Jury
The driver of a tractor-trailer in the nation's deadliest smuggling
attempt was blinded by greed to the suffering of more than 70 illegal
immigrants packed inside the sweltering, airless truck, prosecutors said
Friday in closing arguments.
Tyrone Williams' lawyer depicted him as an inexperienced pawn of a
smuggling ring who didn't know 17 immigrants were slowly dying in the
trailer because he didn't speak Spanish and couldn't hear them banging on
the walls to get out. 2 more immigrants died later.
The case went to the jury Friday but deliberations were to begin Monday.
The defense rested quickly Friday after calling just one witness _ a
meteorologist who briefly testified about the outside temperatures along
the smuggling route.
In his closing argument, defense attorney Craig Washington said the
government was overreaching in seeking the death penalty for Williams. The
driver is the only 1 of 14 defendants in the case facing execution if
convicted.
"The government has overcharged Tyrone Williams," he said. "They looked
around and saw a tremendous tragedy, a humongous waste of human life. They
saw the sorrow and shame and said somebody needs to pay with his life."
Washington maintained that while Williams is guilty of transporting the
immigrants, the responsibility for the 19 deaths falls to the other
members of the smuggling ring, who he blamed for overloading the trailer.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Rodriguez said that greed kept Williams
from intervening to save the immigrants' lives. Williams was paid $7,500
to drive the immigrants from Harlingen to Houston in May 2003, but
abandoned the trailer about 100 miles from his destination.
Authorities said temperatures inside the trailer reached about 173 degrees
during the trip.
"He knew if he opened those doors, those people could see him and that
would make him culpable for his actions," Rodriguez said. "To him, these
weren't people. They were merchandise."
Williams, 34, a Jamaican citizen who lives in Schenectady, N.Y., is
charged with 58 counts of harboring and transporting illegal immigrants.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore said Thursday the prosecution had
failed to prove that Williams was guilty of harboring the immigrants, but
decided Friday to led the charges stand.
Williams could be executed in the case because federal law allows capital
punishment in fatal smuggling cases.
The defense's only witness, meteorologist Jill Hasling, testified Friday
that the temperature outside was about 79 degrees when Williams' truck
left Harlington, dropping to 73 degrees by the time it reached Victoria.
(source: Associated Press)
*********************
Fear, regrets for slaying suspect----Says he didn't act alone in woman's
death
Moises Sandoval Mendoza says fear led him to wrap his hands around her
neck.
"I was afraid of going to jail," he said from behind a glass partition
inside the Collin County jail, his close-shaven head resting against his
handcuffed hands.
Within hours of his arrest last year, Mr. Mendoza confessed to strangling
Rachelle O'Neil Tolleson, 20, to death in their hometown of Farmersville
and later burning her body.
"Fear is a crazy thing. Fear's a factor that drives people to do the
unspeakable - murder," said Mr. Mendoza, 21. "I admitted my guilt from day
one."
1 year after the slaying of the young mother tossed the rural community
into worry and grief, Mr. Mendoza spoke publicly this week for the first
time.
His trial is set to begin in June. The Collin County district attorney's
office has indicated plans to seek the death penalty in the capital murder
case.
Mr. Mendoza said he regrets his actions and the pain he has caused Ms.
Tolleson's family and his own.
"No matter what they read, people think I'm an animal. I'm a human being.
People make mistakes. I'm not saying that justifies it," he said.
"I know I took that little girl's mother away ... a mother, daughter,
cousin to others. I want to send them my apologies. I know it means
nothing."
Police say Mr. Mendoza forced Ms. Tolleson out of her house near downtown
Farmersville on March 17, 2004, leaving her 6-month-old daughter, Avery,
alone in the house unharmed.
Police say he raped the young woman, strangled her and hid her body in a
field behind his house. A few days later, he moved her body to a creek and
burned it, officials said.
Mr. Mendoza admits to doing most of what he is accused of. But he says he
never raped or kidnapped Ms. Tolleson.
And he says he had help, a statement police don't believe.
His attorney, Juan C. Sanchez, declined to comment.
Mr. Mendoza now says Andrew Tolleson, Ms. Tolleson's estranged husband,
was there when he strangled Ms. Tolleson and later helped him burn her
body.
Police said they have found no evidence to support Mr. Mendoza's claims.
Mr. Tolleson, 21, is out of town and could not be reached for comment.
Mr. Tolleson's mother, Patti Eisenhauer, said there is no way her son
would have been involved with Mr. Mendoza.
"Andrew would never hurt Rachelle. He was still in love with her," Ms.
Eisenhauer said. "He's [Mr. Mendoza] a liar. That is just ridiculous."
Collin County sheriff's spokesman Lt. John Norton agreed.
"We are confident we have the person responsible," he said.
When Mr. Mendoza confessed in March 2004, he said he acted alone, choked
Ms. Tolleson until she passed out, raped her and choked her again. But
five months later, he provided a second statement implicating Mr.
Tolleson, who was questioned by police early in the investigation.
"I have made my peace. I'm sorry for what I did. But I wasn't the only one
there," Mr. Mendoza said.
Mr. Mendoza said Mr. Tolleson, who had been separated from his wife for
weeks, wanted to know whom his wife had been dating and was using him to
find out. All three had been classmates at Farmersville High School.
Mr. Mendoza said Mr. Tolleson was blackmailing him and threatened to turn
him in to police if he didn't do what he asked, which included "roughing
up" his wife for information.
At that time, a Dallas judge had issued a warrant for Mr. Mendoza's arrest
in connection with three robberies. He had cut off an ankle monitor while
on bail on those charges.
Mr. Mendoza said this week that he didn't mention Mr. Tolleson's
involvement in his 1st confession because he didn't want it to seem like
Mr. Tolleson hired him to kill his wife, according to court documents.
Farmersville Police Chief Wayne Pickett said they found nothing to verify
Mr. Mendoza's 2nd confession.
"We have pursued every tip, every angle of his [Mr. Mendoza's] story and
there was nothing. We have to have some evidence and there is none," he
said.
"Months later, he came up with this story. Personally, I believe that he
sat there for some time and decided he needed someone to get some of the
blame off of him."
Party that night
The night of the slaying, Mr. Mendoza said, he left a friend's party and
stopped by Ms. Tolleson's house. They left in his father's truck. He said
they had consensual sex at a nearby lake, and then he started questioning
whether she was involved with other men. When he didn't get any answers,
Mr. Mendoza said, he began to choke Ms. Tolleson.
He said he stopped, saw that she was still alive and began choking her
again. Then he "poked her in the throat with a knife" to make sure she was
dead, he said. As he told the story, he poked his finger at the glass
partition. As tears formed, he apologized again.
"She didn't suffer. I didn't do this out of hate," Mr. Mendoza said.
Tugging at his jail-issued green jumpsuit, Mr. Mendoza paused and looked
to the ceiling.
"I was thinking short term, not long term. I was very intoxicated, not
that that's an excuse. But I was."
After police questioned Mr. Mendoza about Ms. Tolleson's disappearance, he
said, he panicked and moved her body from a field behind his house to a
creek bed near the Collin and Hunt county line five days after strangling
her.
Ms. Tolleson's disappearance sparked a massive search in Farmersville and
the surrounding area. An arrowhead hunter, not involved with the search,
found her body at the creek bed.
Mr. Mendoza said he is a mild-mannered person and has never been
physically violent toward women. Police officials say they have
information to the contrary.
- During a domestic disturbance, police said, Mr. Mendoza threw his sister
down in the front yard of their home, bruising her stomach. He had been
upset because his mother wouldn't give him the car keys, according to the
police report.
- An ex-girlfriend told police she was hit, sexually assaulted, choked and
stalked in 2003 after trying to break off her relationship with Mr.
Mendoza.
- A former classmate of Mr. Mendoza's told police that he put a gun to her
head and threatened to kill her if she didn't have sex with him a few
years ago.
Mr. Mendoza has not been prosecuted in any of these reported cases.
Still grieving
Pam O'Neil, Ms. Tolleson's mother, was one of the last people to see her
daughter. She went to the store with Ms. Tolleson to buy diapers and
formula for Avery that night. A year later, Mrs. O'Neil said she still
grieves.
She said Avery has helped her make it through the last year. She and her
husband, Mark, have custody of the 18-month-old.
Mrs. O'Neil said she and family members have attended all the hearings for
Mr. Mendoza's case, because they need to see justice.
Mr. Mendoza said he notices.
"Every time I go to court, they are staring me down. I see the hate in
their eyes. I know they want to kill me," he said. "Even though it's a big
possibility that I'll get the death penalty, I feel better that I told the
truth."
(source: The Dallas Morning News)
*********************************
MISSING COUNSEL CAUSES MISTRIAL TO BE ORDERED
Capital murder defendant Jamarcus Warren was granted a mistrial Friday
after his absentee attorney was taken into custody at a Travis County
detoxification center for failing to appear in court.
Disheveled and unshaven, attorney Shawn Roberts was hauled back to Smith
County early Friday in shackles and handcuffs after Judge Jack Skeen Jr.
issued a writ of attachment, calling for the lawyer's immediate presence
in the 241st District Court.
Roberts missed court Monday, but failed to report his whereabouts in a
timely fashion, causing unnecessary delay, inconvenience and financial
hardship to the county, the judge said.
The defendant - who could receive the death penalty if convicted - will
receive both a new trial date and a new court-appointed attorney by
Monday, Skeen decided at the conclusion of 2 hours of tense exchange.
"The court's overriding concern is a fair trial," Skeen said. "The court
feels that the actions that have taken place here today will allow that to
happen."
The state accuses Warren, a founding member of the Chapel Hill Hoover Five
Deuce Crips gang, of ordering the January 2004 slaying of Shaun Pickens, a
fellow gang member.
Warren, 29, was on the lam for about seven months before he was caught in
Houston and brought back to Smith County. He also is linked to the 2001
bank robbery in Tyler and 2004 killing of a second man in Gregg County.
The decision to evaluate the Houston-based attorney's abilities to
represent his client came into question after Roberts missed court and
failed to report in.
Skeen said he ordered Roberts to appear in court Friday after receiving
word the attorney had been admitted to the Austin Recovery Center and was
expected to remain until April 19.
Roberts, his hair askew, appeared in court early Friday wearing a crinkled
suit, tennis shoes and a light beard to respond to the judge's concerns.
A court bailiff occasionally poked the man for leaning on the judge's
bench for stability.
Objecting to his unplanned court appearance, Roberts insisted he was
competent to represent Warren in his capital murder trial, slated to begin
March 28.
An initial pool of about 650 Smith County residents were summoned to
appear for jury selection last month, but the number has since been
whittled to 8 after more than 2 weeks of individual voir dire questioning.
"The court has not been able to proceed with voir dire," Skeen said.
"There are no sworn jurors and 12 are not paneled ... this court cannot
keep this case in limbo. The court is not going to cause this type of
inconvenience to the citizens of this county."
Roberts, his voice cracking at times with emotion, said he had been taken
to the rehab center against his will by 2 attorney friends, but insisted
he could leave the center at any time.
He requested that voir dire continue March 21.
"I've never appeared in this court inebriated or intoxicated," he said.
"I'm not off my rocker, I'm just sick. I apologize to the prosecution for
the way this was handled - I will appear here on Monday with the proper
shoes on."
The attorney initially claimed his admittance into the detox center
stemmed from a gunshot wound.
But his story changed several times, with reasons for his admittance
ranging from use of prescription pills to a ballooning weight gain and,
finally, to stress over responsibilities associated with single-handedly
defending a capital murder suspect.
Other stresses included reports that a female officer of the court was
"gunning for" his law license and other attorneys were ridiculing his
performance, Roberts said.
Skeen said the move to conduct a status hearing was based in part on a
doctor's note he received this week, indicated Roberts "intensive
treatment" phase was scheduled to begin Monday, the same day the attorney
insisted he would return to court.
The physician's note also included a tentative discharge date of April 19,
the judge said.
"That's hearsay," Roberts responded. "There's only one person to act for
me and that's me. I apologize from the bottom of my heart for this case.
What happened was a miscarriage of justice. 2 lawyers carted me to the
center and I think they made a bad decision.
"I stand before this court completely sober," he said. "I have been
sabotaged ... it's not fair, it's not right. I will defend this man until
(expletive) freezes over."
Pointing to two Smith County sheriff's deputies, the attorney, his voice
cracking, shouted, "Ask them not to put me in shackles and chains like a
common criminal."
Skeen said he sympathized with the attorney's personal issues, but
emphasized the defendant was entitled to adequate legal representation.
Attorney Jeff Haas was initially appointed to represent Warren. But the
defendant refused the appointed counsel and instead hired Roberts.
On Friday, Warren upheld his wishes to retain Roberts as counsel.
"I want to wait until the 19th," the defendant said. "I want him to have
enough time to recover. I feel he needs more time."
After a 10-minute recess to discuss the situation with District Attorney
Matt Bingham, Roberts emerged and requested both a mistrial and removal as
counsel on the case.
Bingham agreed.
When asked what he preferred, Warren, the defendant, disagreed with his
attorney's request for a mistrial, saying he wanted to proceed as
scheduled and to keep Roberts as his attorney.
Skeen disagreed with both of the defendant's wishes, saying he would not
jeopardize Warren's right to a fair trial nor would he keep dozens of
prospective jurors on hold.
The judge also declined to grant a trial continuance and instead ordered a
mistrial.
Roberts asked the record show that he was not at fault and his client was
partly responsible for the mess.
"My motion to withdraw was based on the fact that Jamarcus Warren failed
to live up to the agreement of the contract," the attorney said, citing a
payment arrangement between the 2.
A grim-faced Skeen disagreed, saying his decision had already been
reached.
"There has been no fault by the state of Texas whatsoever," the judge
said, his face turning scarlet as he spoke. "It is clear, no actions of
the prosecutors in any way contributed to the granting of this mistrial."
(source: Tyler Morning Telegraph)
**********************
Consul meets local leaders Issues----Official looks to strengthen city's
bond with Mexico
Carlos Garcia de Alba, the Consul General of Mexico in Dallas, Friday
suggested strengthening the bond between Mexico and Wichita Falls by
identifying a sister city across the border.
The partnership would likely match Wichita Falls with a city in Mexico
with a similar socio-economic makeup. Or it could pair Wichita Falls with
a city where many people here emigrated from, perhaps a city in the
Mexican state of Chihuahua or Guanajuato, said Garcia.
Garcia's tour of Wichita Falls and meeting with local Hispanic leaders was
the first by Mexican Consul that local leaders know of.
Garcia's suggestion was embraced by Mayor Pro-tem Arthur Bea Williams and
others.
"I think it's a wonderful idea since we're more likely to sound like
Mexicans than sound like Germans," she said, referring to the city's
existing sister city Fuerstenfeldbruck, Germany.
Garcia, who handles Mexican affairs in North Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas,
also encouraged the city to recognize Mexican-issued matricula consular
identification cards for undocumented Mexicans.
The cards, which are widely accepted by banks and are available to all
Mexicans living abroad, would allow police to give tickets to people who
don't otherwise have ID instead of taking them to jail for minor
violations.
Accepting the cards could help recent immigrants feel more comfortable
with law enforcement, an issue Garcia said is one of the most important to
Mexicans in the United States.
Police Chief Dennis Bachman liked the idea and requested a sample card,
Williams said.
Williams added that if the ID cards were widely accepted they could also
deter those who try to cash in on undocumented immigrants.
"We've got Hispanics in this country who work and earn lots of money but
are taken advantage of because they don't have any ID," she said.
Issues
Mexican Consul General Carlos Garcia de Alba also responded to a proposal
from State Sen. Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, to send Mexican prisoners to
private facilities across the border, saying the move is unprecedented and
has too many legal hurdles to work.
Estes said the move would free up prison beds and reduce costs. But Garcia
said it would be next to impossible.
"I don't know any case in the world like this," Garcia said Friday. "I
don't know how you can pay on American sentences in another country."
In a separate response, Garcia embraced Mexico's move to forbid the death
penalty. Mexico's Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to abolish the
punishment, which has not been used since 1961.
"Finally the legislation was changed and ... we don't have the death
penalty in the Mexican Constitution," he said.
(source: Times Record News)
***********************
Dallas tops in crime again----Although overall rate is down 4%, it leads
nation's largest cities
Dallas had the highest crime rate among cities with more than 1 million
residents for the seventh consecutive year in 2004, according to
statistics released by police departments in the nation's nine largest
cities.
The city's murder rate crept up to No. 2 among those cities, while its
rates for other violent crimes rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults
fell in the rankings.
On the upside, overall crime fell 4 percent in Dallas last year, giving
the city one of its lowest rates of crimes per person in 30 years. But
other cities' decreases offset the gains in the rankings.
"Our crime rate is too high and unacceptable," Police Chief David Kunkle
said. "I think that we'll have dramatic reductions this year."
Two months ago, Chief Kunkle announced a bold plan to cut crime by 10
percent and homicides by 20 percent in just one year.
"I believe we can hit those goals," said City Council member Gary
Griffith, vice chairman of the public safety committee. "The chief has set
a very tough goal and tough standard for the department to meet. But I
don't believe he would have set a goal that he didn't believe was
achievable.
"Our goal is to make Dallas the safest big city in America."
That has been Dallas' goal for years. A collectible police trading card of
Ben Click, who was Dallas chief in the 1990s, lists his top goal: "Make
Dallas the safest large city in the United States."
But can Dallas do it, given all the factors the statistics don't account
for?
Many criminologists say statistical comparisons are unfair because data
can't account for the willingness of residents to report crime, the number
of workers and shoppers who visit the city daily and differences in
geography, development and transportation.
For example, many New York residents rely on the subway and don't drive,
lowering the pool of cars that can be broken into or stolen.
Meeting Chief Kunkle's goal of a 10-percent reduction would give the city
its lowest crime rate since 1974, the oldest year statistics are
available. But it still wouldn't knock Big D from the top spot.
If all other cities kept their current crime rankings, Dallas would have
to cut crime by nearly 20 percent to have a crime rate comparable to the
No. 2 city, Phoenix.
While other major cities, such as Atlanta and St. Louis, have a higher
crime rate than Dallas, they don't have more than 1 million residents.
The Dallas strategy
To achieve the 10-percent reduction in crime in 2005, Dallas police will
have to sustain cuts achieved in business robberies, rapes and auto thefts
this year, and reverse an increase in murders. Dallas had about 40 murders
as of Friday for 2005. San Diego, which has roughly the same population,
had 4.
The last two years have brought a sea change in the Police Department.
A new chief took over in June and quickly reorganized the department,
blitzed community meetings and outlined a strategy to take drugs and guns
off the street.
Chief Kunkle set an aggressive tone this summer when he followed a stolen
truck after a man flagged him down, not realizing the man in uniform was
the city's top cop. The suspect was arrested.
Some council members said they've noticed improvements in officer morale,
community involvement and response to their concerns.
"There was a call I got on a lot of speeders on Royal Lane," council
member Mitchell Rasansky said. "The next day, there were two police
officers out there with a radar giving tickets. ... I couldn't believe
it."
Chief Kunkle's strategies include adding officers on busier Friday and
Saturday nights, parking squad cars in front of suspected drug houses and
installing surveillance cameras in public places, such as Deep Ellum.
The chief frequently speaks of getting more cops on the streets to focus
on drug dealing and gangs to stop crimes before they happen.
He has suggested putting civilians in administrative jobs; having civilian
officers respond to low-priority 911 calls; creating volunteer patrols in
southern Dallas; turning highway traffic enforcement over to the Sheriff's
Department; and hiring more officers.
Dallas has 2.5 officers per 1,000 residents. But cutting crime might not
be as simple as beefing up ranks. While New York has 4.8 cops per 1,000
people, San Diego which also has low crime rates has 1.7 cops per 1,000
people.
Most offenses nonviolent
The majority of crimes in Dallas are nonviolent property crimes home
burglaries, auto thefts, and other thefts, such as car break-ins. Among
the eight other cities, Dallas was first or second in its rates for those
three categories.
In 2004, Dallas moved further away from the cities with the highest theft
and auto theft rates. But it increased its lead for the rate of home and
business burglaries after the number of burglaries hit a level not seen
since 1992.
Dallas residents were 42 percent more likely to have their homes or
businesses broken into last year than Houston residents, according to the
statistics.
Criminologists warn that overall crime rate comparisons can give residents
a false sense that their city is more dangerous than another.
And in any city, crime is worse in certain neighborhoods than others.
When broken down to crimes per person, the overall crime rate in northern
Dallas is roughly the same as southern Dallas. But violent crime murder,
rape and assault happens at a much higher rate in the south.
The crime rate in northern Dallas is fueled by a much higher rate of car
burglaries, creating the misleading appearance that crime is equally
violent across the city.
One problem is that a stolen potted plant counts the same as a brutal rape
in overall rankings. A fistfight between two men at a bar counts the same
as a double murder, a stolen wallet the same as a stolen Jaguar.
In addition, the figures only include crimes reported to police. The more
residents believe police can help, the more they report crime, said
Raymond Teske, a criminologist at Sam Houston State University in
Huntsville.
And efficient departments have more time to work patrol and conduct
undercover stings, allowing them to find more crimes.
"They must be doing a good job," Dr. Teske said, half-jokingly, when asked
about Dallas' No. 1 crime rate
Police departments vary greatly in the way they record crimes, he said.
A man snatches a woman's purse, and the woman falls. Is it robbery or
theft? One is considered a violent crime, the other a property crime.
A man puts his cellphone down on a bar. Seconds later, it's gone, but he
can't say for sure if someone stole it. Is it theft or lost property? The
latter isn't recorded in statistics sent to the FBI.
"There's a guidebook to go by with UCR [FBI's Uniform Crime Reports], but
there's a lot of latitude with it," Dr. Teske said.
Given all those circumstances, is Dallas somehow designed to have a high
crime rate?
The development of middle- and upper-class neighborhoods in a city will
lower the crime rate because those neighborhoods tend to be safer than
poor areas. Dallas has many suburbs with that kind of development.
In addition, Dallas has warm weather, extensive highways and lots of
retail stores, all factors that some say lead to crime.
"Unlike wanting to come down the fat city list, I don't think dropping
down the crime list is as easy," Mayor Laura Miller said. "It's a much
more complicated and much more serious process."
But she said that changes over the last year have made her more confident
that the numbers will go down.
"Two years ago, when I heard the news, I was alarmed and I was not
optimistic that we would be able to change anything because I knew that we
didn't have a crime-fighter in the top job who had a plan of action," Ms.
Miller said, referring to former Police Chief Terrell Bolton.
"When I hear the news again this year, I'm not surprised because Chief
Kunkle has only been in the job for a few months. But I'm not alarmed
because we have a good person in the job."
WHY'S OUR CRIME SO HIGH?
What criminologists and statisticians say about why Dallas crime
statistics are high:
Mild winters and warm weather tend to increase crime.
Dallas has pockets of blight across the city rather than specific hot
zones, where police can focus their resources.
Interstates 35 and 45 are considered major drug trafficking corridors from
Mexico into the United States.
The Park Cities are surrounded by Dallas but not included in Dallas'
population, sapping the city of middle- and upper-class families, which
are less likely to be victims of crime. Dallas' many suburbs are also a
factor.
A vast highway system means many area residents travel in vehicles, which
can be broken into or stolen.
A high number of retail stores means lots of things that can be stolen.
THE ODDS IN DALLAS
What the odds of being a crime victim were in Dallas in 2004:
All crime 1 in 11
Property crime 1 in 13
Other theft 1 in 22
Burglary 1 in 52
Violent crime 1 in 75
Auto theft 1 in 76
Aggravated assault 1 in 154
Robbery 1 in 162
Rape 1 in 2,055
Murder 1 in 4,952
NOTE: Odds are based on numbers provided by Dallas police compared with
population statistics. These odds don't account for nonresidents who
become crime victims in Dallas. Because crime rates differ across the
city, the odds are not necessarily the same in every neighborhood.
(source: Dallas Morning News research)
(source: Dallas Morning News)
