'Trouble in Mind'

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A story by Brandi Grissom at Texas Monthly with the same title as this post tells the horrifying story of Andre Thomas, a schizophrenic capital murderer who plucked out both of his own eyes and ate them. An excerpt can't do it justice so read the whole thing, but this passage sums up the big picture question.

The toughest questions that Andre’s case presents, however, are not political in nature but moral. As a society, we want justice for the victims of his horrific crime. But what if Andre is not capable of understanding right from wrong or of comprehending why he is facing execution? Conversely, if the death penalty is not intended for someone who cuts out the hearts of two children, then for whom is it meant? At the center of this dilemma is Andre himself, who, now almost thirty, is presently too mentally ill to be housed on death row. For the past four years, he has been confined to a special psychiatric prison facility, where he remains indefinitely. All of which raises perhaps the most difficult question of all: What should be done with Andre Thomas?

See prior, related Grits posts:

• If Andre Thomas is not insane then the insanity defense law is
• Some judge somewhere declared this guy competent to stand trial
• Prevention, punishment, mental illness and crime 
• Romeo and Juliet, Abraham and Isaac: Who to criminalize?

Story conflates jails, prisons to misrepresent scope of unemployment 'fraud'

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A TV news report out of Houston blares with the headline, "Prisoners collecting millions in unemployment while behind bars," but that claim obscures more truth than it illuminates. The story opened:

Unemployment benefits are supposed to be life lines to out-of-work Texans.

But the KHOU 11 News I-Team uncovered millions of dollars in unemployment payments are flowing into jails and prisons across Texas.

All of it comes as the Texas Workforce Commission insists that fighting fraud is one of the agency’s top priorities.

But after we found more than 1,700 cases of inmates collecting unemployment, some want to know if anyone is really watching the system?

Grits replied in the comments, though, that, "If someone is convicted and sent to prison, they shouldn't receive benefits. But most people in jail have been convicted of nothing yet and still enjoy the presumption of innocence. Their benefits should not be terminated. This article lumps those categories together in a way that's fundamentally misleading and borders on demagoguery. Please give the break out for how many of those 1,700 were in jail vs. prison." I'm betting that, if we ever see that data, most of the 1,700 people mentioned were in fact eligible and did not  engage in "fraud" at all.

Roundup: Fumbling DAs, DPS policy reversal, Harris jail won't privatize

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A few odds and ends from this week's news that failed to make it into individual Grits posts:

DPS reverses policy on shooting at vehicles from helicopters
Too bad it took a tragedy. Shooting hogs from helicopters is still okay.

Harris County won't privatize jail
Too much risk and uncertain savings.

Leadership 'crisis' lamented at McLennan DA
A fumbling, petty PR strategy exacerbated the rift between the District Attorney and Waco Police Department, said the Waco Tribune-Herald editorial board.

Leadership crisis lamented at Dallas DA
Dallas DA Craig Watkins is fumbling through another alleged corruption scandal.

Immigration practicalities
See critical commentary on border security and the importance of illegal immigrants to Texas' construction industry.

The conservative case against solitary confinement
From George Will, of all people.

Cleaning out the snake pit at Williamson DA's office

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This anecdote gives a good sense of why change was needed at the Williamson County District Attorney's office: "When new District Attorney Jana Duty moved into her office in the Williamson County Justice Center in Georgetown on Jan. 2, she found a dead coral snake with the head cut off in her desk drawer."

Classy, huh? Former DA John Bradley said he had nothing to do with it, and I believe him, but the episode surely says something about the office culture that surrounded him. Duty has begun to clean out the snake pit, but odds are whoever put the reptile there still works in the DA's office.

Texting ban pushed despite veto last session

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Tomorrow, the Texas House Transportation Committee will consider several bills banning or limiting use of cell phones for talking or texting. Ironically, though you wouldn't know it from the MSM coverage, "Texting bans haven't reduced crashes at all. In a perverse twist, crashes increased in 3 of the 4 states we studied after bans were enacted," according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Shannon Edmonds at TDCAA said Friday that, of the four related bills on the agenda, "HB 63 is the one to watch; it will be amended in committee and probably voted out first." Governor Perry, regular readers know, vetoed similar legislation in 2011.

Story conflates jails, prisons to misrepresent scope of unemployment 'fraud'

To contact us Click HERE
A TV news report out of Houston blares with the headline, "Prisoners collecting millions in unemployment while behind bars," but that claim obscures more truth than it illuminates. The story opened:

Unemployment benefits are supposed to be life lines to out-of-work Texans.

But the KHOU 11 News I-Team uncovered millions of dollars in unemployment payments are flowing into jails and prisons across Texas.

All of it comes as the Texas Workforce Commission insists that fighting fraud is one of the agency’s top priorities.

But after we found more than 1,700 cases of inmates collecting unemployment, some want to know if anyone is really watching the system?

Grits replied in the comments, though, that, "If someone is convicted and sent to prison, they shouldn't receive benefits. But most people in jail have been convicted of nothing yet and still enjoy the presumption of innocence. Their benefits should not be terminated. This article lumps those categories together in a way that's fundamentally misleading and borders on demagoguery. Please give the break out for how many of those 1,700 were in jail vs. prison." I'm betting that, if we ever see that data, most of the 1,700 people mentioned were in fact eligible and did not  engage in "fraud" at all.

Roundup: Fumbling DAs, DPS policy reversal, Harris jail won't privatize

To contact us Click HERE
A few odds and ends from this week's news that failed to make it into individual Grits posts:

DPS reverses policy on shooting at vehicles from helicopters
Too bad it took a tragedy. Shooting hogs form helicopters is still okay.

Harris County won't privatize jail
Too much risk and uncertain savings.

Leadership 'crisis' lamented at McLennan DA
A fumbling, petty PR strategy exacerbated the rift between the District Attorney and Waco Police Department, said the Waco Tribune-Herald editorial board.

Leadership crisis lamented at Dallas DA
Dallas DA Craig Watkins is fumbling through another alleged corruption scandal.

Immigration practicalities
See critical commentary on border security and the importance of illegal immigrants to Texas' construction industry.

The conservative case against solitary confinement
From George Will, of all people.