Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Harris County Jail to form new Mental Health unit

It is the second largest jail in the nation, and it’s about to set the standard for the country.

On any given day, there are 9,000 inmates in the Harris County Jail, 20 percent of them with a history of mental illness. According to some experts, that makes the jail the largest mental health facility in the state.

Some say the jail's move is revolutionary, but will it make a difference?

With that in mind, the jail has formed a new mental health unit comprised of 61 specially trained officers. The jail also spent $1 million converting four cellblocks into mental health housing. Under the new program, inmates will be screened during intake instead of being placed immediately among the general population. For some of these inmates, it will be their first encounter with a mental health professional.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Spring Teacher Charged with having Sex with Student


A Spring ISD teacher has been charged with having sex with a student. Alison Mosbeck was in court Monday and was released from jail after posting a $20,000 bond.

Three weeks ago, the Pct. 4 constable’s office received a tip that a teacher at Spring’s Dueitt Middle School was having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student.

Following an investigation by its own police department, Spring ISD put Mosbeck on administrative leave.

Alison Mosbeck faces four felony charges for having a sexual relationship with a student.

Late last week, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office filed four felony charges against the 34-year-old Mosbeck, who went to work for the district two years ago. She faces one count of inappropriate relationship between teacher and student and three counts of felony sexual assault.

According to Spring ISD, the student does not attend Dueitt Middle School this year. The district also said because the allegations involve only one student and that it appeared to be an isolated relationship a letter was not sent home to parents.

Mosebeck is due back in court Nov. 29

Monday, October 29, 2007

Assaults and Turnovers high in Texas Prison System

Assaults on Texas prison guards and staffers have doubled in the last five years while turnover among prison employees is at a record level, according to a newspaper report.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reported that more than 36 staff members have been assaulted this year by inmates with weapons, up from 18 in all of 2003, according to an analysis by The Dallas Morning News.

The increase reflects growing violence among inmates. The department recorded more than 900 cases of inmates attacking inmates so far this year, up more than 30 percent from 2002.

Meanwhile, guards have been leaving their jobs sooner, with one in four employees quitting the agency last year. The department's workforce was down more than 3,900 employees at the end of August.

Criminal justice experts and department officials said the violence can be attributed to factors including the staff shortages, tougher criminals and prison overcrowding. The department struggles to recruit officers because of low pay.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Lawyer says Texas AG's office Pushed Execution

An attorney for the only man put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court announced plans to review the constitutionality of lethal injection said staff at the Texas Attorney General's Office pushed for the execution.

Michael Richard, 49, was executed Sept. 25 hours after justices decided to take up a challenge from two condemned inmates in Kentucky over the same lethal injection procedures used by Texas. Richard's death also followed a refusal by Sharon Keller, presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, to keep the office open past 5 p.m. so his attorneys could file an appeal.

Richard's attorneys wanted his execution halted until the Kentucky issue was settled.

David Dow, one of Richard's attorneys, said a lawyer on his staff informed Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office about the failed attempt with the criminal appeals court about 6 p.m. But an assistant attorney general from Abbott's office told lawyers they had six minutes to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court for Richard.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

HISD fired officer who authored "Ghetto Handbook"

A Houston school district police officer who distributed a “Ghetto Handbook” has been fired.

Officer Roby Morris was placed on paid leave at the first of the school year after he handed out a multi-page pamphlet that listed “Ebonics” definitions to common phrases.

On Friday, the district moved to fire Morries.

According to HISD, Morris told investigators he created the handbook to get back at one of his supervisors.

He also used as his defense the fact he is married to a black woman and that they have three biracial kids, an internal investigation found.

About a dozen HISD employees, most from the district’s police department, received copies of the handbook back in May. The pamphlet claims to allow officers to speak as if they had lived “in the hood.”

“The publication was incredibly offensive and completely reprehensible. HISD condemns it in the strongest possible terms,” district spokesman Terry Abbott said. “This incident represents an egregious violation of our standards of conduct and decency.”

Friday, October 26, 2007

Perry appoints "3" to Texas Southern Board

Texas Southern University's governing board is nearly complete after Gov. Rick Perry named three new regents Thursday.

The governor selected investment manager Sam Bryant, former Dallas area school board member Curtistene Smith McCowan and Tracye McDaniel, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Partnership.

The appointments leave one vacancy on the nine-member board, which was remade after a series of management and financial missteps at TSU. The previous board resigned under pressure earlier this year.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Texas Judge Draws Outcry for Allowing an Execution

The presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the target of a rising national outcry a month after turning away the last appeal of a death row inmate because the rushed filing was delayed past the court’s 5 p.m. closing time.

The inmate, Michael Richard, was then executed for a 1986 sexual assault and murder — the last person to die in Texas while the United States Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of lethal injection.

The judge, Sharon Keller, has said she did not know that Mr. Richard’s defense lawyers in Houston were having computer problems when they asked the court for 20 more minutes to deliver their final state appeal to Austin hours before the scheduled execution on Sept. 25.

Without a definitive ruling from the state court, the lawyers could not properly appeal to the United States Supreme Court to block the execution.

Judge Keller, a Republican who was elected to her second six-year term last year, declined through her office this week to comment.

The court does not accept computer filings, although one of the court’s judges, Tom Price, said in an interview this week, “We’re reviewing all our procedures and policies.”

Other judges on the nine-member court, the state’s highest for criminal appeals, have said they were in the courthouse or available by phone and would have stayed late to hear the appeal if they had known about it.

On Wednesday, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, with 13,000 members nationwide, said it had just sent a complaint against Judge Keller to the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct, the first judicial complaint the group had ever filed, said its president, Carmen D. Hernandez, of Washington.

“Whatever else happens in the United States of America, the courts are to remain open to litigants,” Ms. Hernandez said.

Also Wednesday, a petition calling for the court to accept electronic filings and signed by more than 300 lawyers — including two former Texas Supreme Court justices and other former judges, the head of the Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline and partners of leading Texas law firms — was delivered in Austin by the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal advocacy group.

This month at least 150 lawyers across Texas announced they were filing a complaint against Judge Keller with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Among the signers was a state district judge from Galveston, Susan Criss, who said, “The Code of Judicial Conduct requires judges to report activity by other judges that violates the code.”

The commission of six judges, two lawyers and five citizens investigates cases of judicial misconduct — defined as bringing discredit upon the judiciary or the administration of justice — and can impose sanctions ranging from additional education to suspension or a trial, but it cannot remove a judge.

The commission will not confirm that any judge is under investigation, said the group’s executive director, Seana Willing.

But David R. Dow, Mr. Richard’s lead lawyer, said Tuesday that a representative of the commission had interviewed him about the case several weeks ago.

Mr. Dow, a University of Houston law professor and a lawyer for the Texas Defender Service, a law clinic representing death row inmates, said, “Obviously Mr. Richard was executed more than a month ago, so none of this helps him.”

But Mr. Dow added, “I am surprised that there are so many people across such a broad terrain who seem to be outraged.”

The controversy stems from an expedited appeal that Mr. Dow and other lawyers rushed to file for Mr. Richard on the day of his scheduled execution — the same day the United States Supreme Court agreed to review whether lethal injection in Kentucky amounted to cruel and unusual punishment.

Mr. Dow said that in refocusing their appeal on lethal injection, they suffered a computer breakdown and tried to get the Court of Criminal Appeals to wait 20 minutes after closing time so the brief could be delivered by hand, but that they were turned down.

The Austin American-Statesman quoted Judge Keller on Oct. 3 as defending her decision to close, saying she had asked Mr. Richard’s lawyers why the court should stay open “and no reason was given.”

“I just said, ‘We close at 5.’ I didn’t really think of it as a decision as much as a statement,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.

Mr. Dow said they had pleaded computer failure, to no avail. Lacking a state ruling, the lawyers submitted an incomplete appeal to the United States Supreme Court, and Mr. Richard was executed. Two days later, the justices blocked another lethal injection in Texas, and there have been no executions since.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

HPD Overtime Abuse Could Cost You Money

Police officers are relied upon to enforce the law, not break it. Previously, 11 News learned about HPD officers being investigated for overtime abuses.

But Chief Hurtt is now putting a stunning number of officers to that investigation.

“He used the range 30-60 as a ballpark number that IAD had identified that the DA’s office might want to look at,” HPD General Counsel Craig Ferrell said.

Meanwhile, 11 News obtained internal documents regarding time worked. Once acknowledges HPD’s outdated computers can’t document all the work performed.

In part because of that, a city audit and the internal affairs investigation, a new overtime worksheet goes into effect November 1 requiring, among other things, at least 15 minutes or adequate travel between official police work and an extra job.

That requirement was prompted by allegations of abutments – when an officer clocks out at, say, 2 p.m. and starts an extra job at 2:01 p.m.

“That was one issue, and there were also overlaps,” Ferrell said.

Overlaps are also known as double dipping – when an officer claims overtime pay for the same hours he works an extra job.

HPD says the new system should help clear up innocent mistakes as well.

“Some of these that may appear to be double dipping … may just be bad record keeping,” Ferrell said.

But none of this sits well with patrol officer who already record all their hours, but across three different and incompatible systems.

“Making us fill out more and more forms over something they already have the information on,” Mark Clark of the Houston Police Officer’s Union said.

A new system and software are in the works, but it could take more than a year to implement.

That’s why HPD wants this paperwork now. Other police departments, including Washington, D.C., are interested to see how HPD’s plan works out. D.C.’s force recently had five officers retire and 10 others indicted for double dipping.

HPD’s internal investigation should be completed by year’s end, at which point it may be clear how much the alleged activity has been costing taxpayers.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Report: 15 put to death by Texas had questionable, tainted evidence

Did the state of Texas put 15 people to death even though the evidence against them may have been tainted?

ll/News has obtained a report that explains exactly what may have gone wrong with the Houston Police Department’s beleaguered crime lab. Specific evidence questions that are tied to 180 criminal cases and include convicts who've already been put to death.

These are details we are seeing for the first time. The specific issues with each of the cases are now being examined.

They are catalogued in a spreadsheet obtained only by 11 News.

It was produced by the Bromwich team, tasked by the city with investigating the trouble at the crime lab.

It has been reviewed by HPD as well as Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal.

The spreadsheet coded cases. The color green for cases where evidence still exists and red for evidence still stored at the lab.

We've broken it down for you.

There are 62 murder cases and 40 capital murder cases among the 180 cases now under review.

Of those 40 capital murder cases, 15 of the convicted have already been executed. Ten more are still on death row.

"Just because they're on that list, you have to look at what part the serology played. What was the defect,” said Marie Munier of the DA’s office. “What part that (evidence) played in the conviction. What other evidence was there that these people committed these crimes?”

For some there is no question of guilt. Like Karla Faye Tucker.

There were errors in the lab work related to her murder case. But there was also an admission by her that she did indeed pick axe to death Jerry Dean and Deborah Thornton 24 years ago.

Then there is a case like the quadruple murder at Malibu Grand Prix in 1983. In all, three suspects would be convicted for the murders.

Two, Kenneth Ray Ransom and Richard Wilkerson, were executed.

But the HPD lab evidence shows something strange.

There were four victims and three suspects in the case. Retesting of evidence found two Blood Type AB tests.

But none of the seven individuals in the case are or were type AB.

"Each case will have to be looked at individually,” said Munier.

There are more than 160 hearings planned before Nov. 1 on the cases that are now being reviewed. But 15 already put to death won’t have that chance.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Louisiana's Newly Elected Governor Vows to Change the States' Corruption Image

Changing Louisiana's reputation for corruption would do more than just make over its image, Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal said Sunday: It could help the state attract businesses and win federal aid for hurricane recovery.

The methodical GOP congressman known for his wonkish style says residents of the state are tired of cronyism and corruption and may have had enough of colorful politicians.

The Republican congressman, a day after his historic win in an election that featured a dozen candidates for governor, pressed ahead with his campaign pledge, saying in an interview with The Associated Press that one of his first acts will be to call a special legislative session to reform ethics laws.

Just weeks after Katrina, federal officials brought the country's first post-storm public corruption indictment against Joseph Impastato, a St. Tammany Parish councilman accused of taking kickbacks in exchange for steering contracts for debris removal. Impastato has maintained he is innocent of the extortion, conspiracy and money laundering charges against him.

A few months later, Andrew Rose and Loyd Holliman, two Federal Emergency Management Agency employees, were indicted on charges that they solicited bribes while managing a FEMA base camp near New Orleans, according to federal records. They pleaded guilty and were sentenced in August to 21 months in federal prison.

The most surprising case came in August, when Oliver Thomas, a popular city councilman, pleaded guilty to accepting nearly $20,000 in bribes from convicted political operative, Stan "Pampy" Barre, New Orleans most notorious criminal. Thomas' case, more than any other, shook the walls at city hall, City Councilwoman Shelley Midura said.

Texas Vodka Distillers try to Break into the Market

The Lone Star State, which has long claimed national bragging rights for its picante sauce, mesquite-smoked barbecue and chicken-fried steak, now boasts no fewer than three vodka distilleries.

All three vodkas are made in and around Austin. The distillers hope to tap into the global thirst for vodka, which is the world’s most popular alcoholic spirit.

Tito’s Handmade Vodka, celebrating its 10 th anniversary this year, is the granddaddy of the Texas distilleries, with distribution in all 50 U. S. states and Canada. The other two distillers — Dripping Springs Texas Vodka and Savvy Vodka — have only recently gone into production and have limited distribution in Texas.

With so many vodkas from Russia and other countries to choose from, is there room in the Lone Star State for three homegrown brands ?

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Drug Traffic a real pain along Texas/Louisiana border

Texas has been getting an unexpected flood of business from its Louisiana neighbors. Why would so many Louisianans flood across the Texas border?

It’s the draw of Texas pain management clinics that dispense pills much easier than Louisiana.

“At the height of the problem we were getting 80 to 90 percent of our cars from Louisiana,” said Orange County Sheriff Mike White. “Pain management is when you pay cash and you get the same pain prescription over and over and over.”

In fact, the sheriff’s department seized thousands of suspect pills from stopping so-called pain patients as they left the clinics.

“They get a cocktail of hydrocodone, Xanex and soma,” said White.

The problem – authorities say… the pill traffic is stretching from the Louisiana borders to Houston.

Recently federal authorities raided a clinic in Orange County. It’s out of this space now and business owners are happy about that.”

For the moment, seven out of the nine pain management clinics in Orange are no longer open, thanks to raids and crackdowns.

But with the border part of the pill mill gone, it’s unclear what that means for Houston.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Microwave baby's dad pleads insanity

A man charged with burning his infant daughter in a microwave oven will seek to plead not guilty by reason of insanity.
Sam Cammack III, attorney for Joshua Mauldin, has filed notice of intent to plead insanity.

Under state law, a person can be found not guilty by reason of insanity if a jury finds the defendant did not know that his or her actions were wrong. It is a defense that worked in the cases of Andrea Yates and Deanna Laney, two Texas women who killed their own children.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Should Priscilla Slade be worried?

The man who signed the checks that funded former TSU President Priscilla Slade's extravagant lifestyle might be willing to testify against her at her next trial, his attorney said Tuesday.

Quintin Williams, the former chief financial officer of Texas Southern University, who was sentenced in May to 10 years in prison for his part in the scandal, might be able to connect the dots, prosecutor Donna Goode said.

"At the time we went to trial, we didn't feel it was necessary," Goode said. "We're willing to learn from experience. If it would have made the difference for the other six, who's to say?"

Alternatively, she said, prosecutors could turn to Bruce Wilson, the school's former head of purchasing, who is awaiting trial on a lesser felony charge of misusing funds. Goode said that either could be useful, but Wiggins was the one who worked closely with Slade during her seven-year tenure.

Students Free Speech Violated on Montgomery Community College campus

The Houston Chronicle has reported that access to an Internet blog critical of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District's chancellor is being barred from campus computers, a lawsuit says.

Richard C. McDuffee filed suit in a Montgomery County district court claiming a violation of free speech. McDuffee is asking the college district not be allowed to deny access to the blog that criticizes Chancellor Richard Carpenter.

The blog, richardcarpenterwatch.blogspot.com reports on Carpenter's conduct while chancellor of the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas. The blog contains allegations of racism, corruption, purposeful intimidation and incompetence.

Another example of violating student rights. Blogs can be used as a way to bring attention to a problem. Perhaps that is what the fuss is really about.

Today's Top Stories from 11 News

KHOU/11 News reported today that a triple shooting in Northwest Harris County has left two people dead.


Deputies say the ordeal began when the shooter went to his ex-girlfriend’s home at 11100 Louetta at around 10 a.m. Thursday.

The gunman reportedly shot his ex and then shot her current boyfriend.
She died at the scene and her boyfriend was wounded.

He was taken to an area hospital.

The shooter fled the scene.

Officials say he shot and killed himself in the parking lot of a church on 17100 Hufsmith Kohrville. Plus, Richmond police say a man tried to sexually assault two other women after he posted bond on another rape charge.

Ronald Geathers, 36, had been released on bond after being arrested and charged for a sexual assault that happened in July.

Police say the Richmond man attacked a woman after returning to his apartment in the 1700 block of FM 1640.

At about 1:20 a.m. on Wednesday, an officer was dispatched to that complex to investigate the attempted sexual assault.

As the officer took statements at that scene, another attempted sexual assault incident was called into police.

This incident, police say, occurred in the 800 block of Maiden Lane.

When officers arrived there, they say Geathers was still at the scene.

The victims in the Maiden Lane case and the FM 1640 case identified Geathers as the man who attempted to sexually assault them.

Geathers was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted sexual assault and transported back to the Fort Bend County Jail.

On another note, dozens of opponents to a university rail line told Metro board members they don’t want light rail running through their neighborhood.

“We are very interested in protecting our neighborhood the way it is,” said resident Lizette Cobb who lives on Wheeler Avenue.

The Metro board is expected to decide on a university line that would run along major parts of Wheeler and Richmond avenues. It would provide transportation for students at Texas Southern University, University of Houston, Yates High School and Cuney Homes a public housing complex.

“When you are trying to lay out a system like this you look where the demand is going to be,” said Metro Board Chairman David Wolff. “We have to be sensitive to the folks on Wheeler -- that this does not increase the noise and take any residential property.”

But some Third Ward residents are adamantly opposed to it.

“We are taxpaying people, we are elderly, our homes are historical,” said Wheeler resident Louis Ray. “We have said for years we don’t want you on Wheeler Street. We are in favor of light rail -- just not coming down Wheeler Street.”

Business and community leaders, including city council member Peter Brown expressed support for the recommended new Metro line.

“If we want to be a first class city, we have to have a first class rail line,” Brown said.

Public comment period ends this morning.

The board is expected to a decision late this afternoon.

Tonight on 11 News ata 5 and 6 find out what the board decides and what the next step will be.

Investigators are also looking into the death of a man who fell to his death from a fifth floor balcony.

The man fell to his death from a fifth story balcony.

It happened at a ten story building on West Alabama at Brandt.

Those condos are in the Montrose area.

Authorities are trying to figure out if the fall was an accident or a homicide.

Police did interview several witnesses and have a person of interest in custody.

It's not known if the victim lived in the condo or was just visiting.

That person's identity has not been released

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Baby dies after being killed by drunk driver

I hope they put the murderer of this two year old child away for life. We have to send a strong message, to drunk drivers that their behavior will no longer be tolerated. I know the family is going through a lot of pain and anguish right now. Let's keep them in our prayers.

A toddler injured during a hit-and-run has died.

Angel Jesus Hernandez was arrested near the scene of the accident.

Gissela Silvester, 23 months, was with her mother and was crossing in the 6100 block of Windswept Sunday night when she was hit.

The child was being treated at a local hospital, but died from her injuries Tuesday.

The driver who police say hit the child, Angel Jesus Hernandez, was arrested and charged with failure to stop and render aid and intoxicated assault with a vehicle.

Police say Hernandez, 24, was heading west on Windswept when he hit Gissela on the sidewalk and continued down the street.

He then, police say, crossed into the center of the road, hit an oncoming car, then went into a parking lot and hit two parked cars there.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Trial begins in 24-year old Mass Murder case

Can you imagine the pain and anguish these families are going through after waiting 24 years to receive some sort of justice for their loved ones. It reminds me of the old saying: Justice delayed is justice denied.


One by one, relatives of five victims of one of Texas’ most infamous and longest-unsolved mass murders sat in a courtroom witness chair to relive the worst day of their lives and identify a large photograph of their murdered loved ones.

“Monte on his prom night,” Linda Lee said through tears, describing a picture of her son in a tuxedo.

“That’s my family,” Jack Hughes said, his voice choking, as he described a family portrait that included his wife, Opie.

Opie Hughes, 39, and Monte Landers, 19, were among five people robbed, abducted from a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore almost a quarter-century ago and then shot execution-style in a remote field about 15 miles away in Rusk County in East Texas.

The first of two men charged with all five slayings, convicted burglar Romeo Pinkerton, went on trial Monday. A conviction in the long-stalled case could get him a death sentence. The case is being tried in Bowie County, almost 100 miles away, because of publicity in the Kilgore area. One by one, relatives of five victims of one of Texas’ most infamous and longest-unsolved mass murders sat in a courtroom witness chair to relive the worst day of their lives and identify a large photograph of their murdered loved ones.

“Monte on his prom night,” Linda Lee said through tears, describing a picture of her son in a tuxedo.

“That’s my family,” Jack Hughes said, his voice choking, as he described a family portrait that included his wife, Opie.

Opie Hughes, 39, and Monte Landers, 19, were among five people robbed, abducted from a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Kilgore almost a quarter-century ago and then shot execution-style in a remote field about 15 miles away in Rusk County in East Texas.

The first of two men charged with all five slayings, convicted burglar Romeo Pinkerton, went on trial Monday. A conviction in the long-stalled case could get him a death sentence. The case is being tried in Bowie County, almost 100 miles away, because of publicity in the Kilgore area.

Monday, October 15, 2007

TSU students move back into Lanier Hall after Bat Problem

I know one should not blame Priscilla Slade for all of Texas Southern University's woes, but it does make you reflect upon her excessive spending habits, on herself, with the university's funds when the students were plagued with bats on the campus. Where exactly did Priscilla Slade's priorities lie?



Students have returned Lanier Hall at Texas Southern University.

That's the dorm which was battling a bat problem.

School officials say they began moving back into their dorm rooms Sunday afternoon.
The action comes after bats were removed from the TSU dorm. The bat problem was caught on cell phone video.

Students had been beating back the pests with brooms before they moved to two nearby hotels.

School officials say they want to make sure the netting put up to keep the bats out is working.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Osteen's ways to 'Become A Better You'

By: Jeremy Desel/ 11 News


Deep breath moments seem to be few and far between these days for Lakewood Church pastor Joel Osteen.

Even when there is a break, he is on the phone.

But given the time to reflect?

"I just try to take the pressure off and say this is the best that I have to offer and hopefully people will respond to it,” said Osteen.

Respond they have.

His first book, “Your Best Life Now," was a bestseller for two years. The next hits stores Monday.

"It's exciting. I told my kids and said this is going to be one of the biggest weeks of my life,” said Osteen. “I looked at the schedule and all that is going on. It is just amazing. I can't believe it is here."

“Become a Better You,” is essentially a collection of thoughts from Pastor Osteen's messages over the last three years.
Also online

Read an excerpt from 'Become a Better You'

A collection of familiar themes.

Questions like, "Who told you something was wrong with you?"

And statements, "Other people do not determine your potential."

Potential is not something Osteen lacks, but attempting to follow that success is a challenge.

"You know, it was difficult. I felt a little bit of the pressure. Especially when the offers started coming in and when they told me how many (books) they were going to print."

The bar is high.

Most books have an initial press run of 150,000 copies.

This one has 3 million.

One of the largest from any publisher this year. But pressure is something Osteen is used to.

Jeremy Desel: It there a burden attached to all of this?

Osteen: “I don't think that would be a burden. But I think that I feel the responsibility of the influence that God has given us. You know it makes you think twice about what you are going to say. Preparing your messages knowing that some people are making life decisions over this."

No pressure there.

But one reason Joel is sitting down with 60 minutes Sunday.

But Osteen has plenty of critics too.

Those who say his message is simply Christian light.

"It doesn't really bother me,” said Osteen. “I guess in one sense, it does just being real, but I really don't dwell on it very much because I believe that I am doing what I'm supposed to do.”

And people are listening. Three sold out events at New York's Madison Square Garden next week prove that.

"People are hungry. And that goes back to some of the criticism. But if you touch people something is working and I feel like we are making a difference,” said Osteen.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Priscilla Slade Elated Over Jury's Decision

Priscilla Slade was elated over the jury's decision in her trial yesterday. The jury could not decide unanimously whether Priscilla Slade was guilty or innocent. Somehow Ms. Slade looked at their decision as a victory for her. The prosecutor, however, has decided to retry the case. When the case is retried, will Priscilla Slade be found innocent? I previously speculated that the jury would find her guilty. I still believe that she is guilty.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Panel to be appointed to review Houston's Crime Lab cases

I am so glad that someone will be reviewing Houston's crime lab cases. Just the thought that there could be people in prison for crimes they did not commit makes me sick to my stomach. It is bad enough when we have unsolved crimes. To put an innocent person, in prison is something that we as a society should not tolerate.

Harris County criminal judges plan to appoint a three-attorney panel to review 180 cases that may have been mishandled by the Houston police crime lab.

The cases were identified in June by a former Justice Department inspector hired by Houston.

Authorities earlier this week released a man who was wrongfully convicted of rape in the 1990s after the lab failed to identify semen on the victim’s bedsheet.

Testing by an outside lab this summer found DNA evidence from another man.

Ronald Taylor was the third Texas prison inmate to be freed because of problems with the Houston crime lab.

The review calls for three defense attorneys to determine the importance of crime lab evidence to the 180 convictions—and act accordingly.

They likely will report to retired Judge Mary Bacon.

Judge declares mistrial in Priscilla Slade's case

The judge has declared a mistrial in the Priscilla Slade case. The prosecutors, in the case, said Slade misspent more than half a million dollars of Texas Southern University's funds. Her attorneys said all her purchases were legitimate and done to improve the school’s status. If Slade would have been convicted, she faced up to life in prison.

Priscilla Slade Jurors Remain Deadlocked

The jury, in the Priscilla Slade trial remains deadlocked. Priscilla Slade's attorney filed a motion for a mistrial, in the case, however the judge denied the motion and ordered the jury to keep on deliberating. The deadlock is now 7-5, however, there is no indication which side the jury is leaning. It does indicate, however, that some of the jury members are leaning toward her innocence.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Jurors trying to break deadlock in Priscilla Slade's Case

The jury is still deliberating in Priscilla Slade's trial. Something tells me that the jury is leaning toward her guilt.
________________________________________________


Jurors began a third full day of deliberations Thursday in the Houston trial of Texas Southern University’s former president who’s accused of misspending school funds to decorate her homes.

Jurors continue deliberating after telling a judge the day before that they were deadlocked in deciding Priscilla Slade’s fate. Her attorney’s request for a mistrial after the jury said it was deadlocked was denied.

Prosecutors say Slade misspent more than half a million dollars of TSU funds. Her attorneys say all her purchases were legitimate and done to improve the school’s status. If convicted, she faces up to life in prison.

In a note to state District Judge Brock Thomas Wednesday, the 12-member jury in the trial of Priscilla Slade said they were deadlocked by an 8-4 vote early in the afternoon. The note did not indicate if the jury was in favor of conviction or acquittal. Jurors did say they wanted advice from the court on how to continue.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Owner charged after pit bull attacks elderly woman

I am so glad that the owner of this pit bull is charged with a crime. This new law is the best thing that could have happened here in Houston. I have found myself in situations where I have been confronted with unleashed pit bulls. Hopefully this will send a message to other pit bull owners that they are totally responsible for the actions of their dogs.
________________________________________________________________________________

A Houston dog owner was charged under a new law Wednesday after her pit bull attacked a 77-year-old woman.

The owner has been charged with a third-degree felony under a new state law that went into effect in September of this year.

Harris County Precinct 6 Lt. Mark Timmers said the victim was walking near the 500 block of Hoffman when she was attacked.

Timmins said the dog escaped from its fenced yard.

Witnesses rushed to the woman’s aid and they were able to subdue the dog until emergency personnel arrived.

The victim was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The Houston Police Department arrested the owner of the dog under a new law that provides that owners be more culpable for the actions of their dogs, even when they escape from their property.

Harris County Precinct 6, which was called out to the scene by Harris County District Attorney’s Office, processed the scene and took custody of the adult pit bull.

“This case is the first to be used under the new law which holds owners responsible for attacks by their dogs,” said Lt. Timmers. “The district attorney’s office takes this law very serious.”

Lt. Timmers said a dangerous dog affidavit will be filed on the dog with the hopes of removing the animal from the owner.

Jury Reports 8-4 Deadlock in Priscilla Slade's trial

My gut tells me that the jury believes Priscilla Slade is guilty but they are concerned about how much prison time she would receive. They had previously posed that question to the judge. The judge informed them that they should not be concerned with the amount of time Priscilla Slade could receive.
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The jury in the trial of former TSU president Priscilla Slade was sent back to work by the judge Wednesday after reporting a deadlock.

Members of the jury told the judge they were stuck in an 8-4 deadlock over whether Slade misspent more than $500,000 dollars of the university’s money on herself and her home.

It was unclear which way the jury was leaning.

The judge told them to keep deliberating.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Judge's daughter gets light sentence for intoxication manslaughter

I cannot believe the sentence this judge's daughter got for her crime. A young man is dead. Let us think about the real victim and his family. My prayers go out to this young man's family. Did the jury really send a message to this drunken young lady? You be the judge.
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A jury Monday sentenced the daughter of a Harris County judge to eight years probation and fined her $10,000 for the intoxication manslaughter death of her 19-year-old boyfriend.

By law, 20-year-old Elizabeth Shelter must serve 120 days in jail before her probation begins.

If she fails to meet the terms of the probation, she will be sent to prison for five years.

The sentence came just hours after a jury convicted Shelton.

As the guilty verdict was read, Shelton remained stoic. Her family was visibly shaken.


Lawyers for Shelton, 20, did not deny that she was drunk when she crashed her SUV into the back of a box truck last year. They blamed the accident on the truck driver, saying he made an illegal lane change.

The truck driver denied the allegations.

Shelton's boyfriend, Matthew McNiese, was killed instantly in the crash and neary beheaded.

Witnesses said he was hanging out of the SUV's window before the crash.

Tests showed Shelton's blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit that night.

Witnesses testified that Shelton cursed at the ER nurse who was taking her blood at the hospital after the crash. She

told the nurse that her father, Pat Shelton, was a judge.

Shelton will be allowed to finish out the semester before reporting to jail on December 20.

She could have received up to 20 years in prison for the crime.

Houston Crime Lab Gross Negligence (Incompetence)

I would never categorize what Houston's Crime Lab did to Ronnie Taylor as a mistake. I would consider their actions gross negligence and severe incompetence. Every newspaper or television report states that this was a mistake. An outside lab was able to detect the DNA on the sheet. Houston's Crime Lab should be shut down and all of their work should be contracted out until they are able to hire competent employees.
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Wrongly Convicted Man Needs Justice



A man who spent 12 years in prison for a rape that DNA evidence later proved he did not commit is expected to be released from prison Tuesday in Houston, attorneys said.

Ronald Taylor, 47, would be the third innocent man released from prison because of mistakes made by the Houston Police Department’s troubled crime lab.

Taylor is scheduled to appear in front of state District Judge Denise Collins with his lawyers from the Texas Innocence Network and the Innocence Project, organizations that seek to free the wrongfully convicted, as well as Harris County prosecutors, who are supporting Taylor’s release.

“We’re all in agreement ... that Ronnie Taylor is innocent and spent the last 14 years incarcerated while the real perpetrator went unapprehended,” said Nina Morrison, an Innocence Project staff attorney.

The man whose DNA matches that found on the victim’s bedsheet is already in prison for failing to register as a sex offender.

Taylor has remained in jail since Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal acknowledged his innocence last week. The delays are common in these cases while authorities arrange an inmate’s release, Morrison and Rosenthal said.

Even if the judge grants his release as expected Tuesday, Taylor will still have to return to the county jail to get processed out, Morrison said.

“The sheriff’s department has assured us they will move as quickly as possible,” Morrison said. Morrison didn’t expect it to take very long for Taylor to then be released.

Taylor was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to 60 years in prison for the 1993 rape of a woman in her home. Taylor was convicted on the victim’s identification, Morrison said, although the victim told authorities she caught only a glimpse of her attacker’s face.

At the trial, an analyst with the Houston police crime lab testified that she had tested the bed sheet and found no semen. This summer, a private lab in New Orleans retested the bed sheet and found semen that was matched to Roosevelt Carroll, currently in prison for failing to register as a sex offender. The Innocence Project paid for the retesting.

Jury Weighs Fate of Former TSU President

I totally disagree with Priscilla Slades's attorney's argument that her spending university funds was done to improve the school's status. Her spending was based entirely on her own personal greed. How could she elicit funds from prospective donors when she was looting the university's coffers. If she felt the school needed funding, she would have tried to demonstrate, to prospective donors, that the university was not able to meet its basic needs. How does spending approximately $500,000, on herself, demonstrate such need?
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By JUAN A. LOZANO

HOUSTON (AP) — A jury was set to continue deliberating Tuesday whether Texas Southern University's former president spent more than $500,000 of school money to lavishly furnish and decorate her homes.

During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors said Priscilla Slade left a legacy of waste and betrayed trust as she misspent school funds on everything from $100 bottles of wine at lunch to landscaping to $40,000 china.

Her attorney argued that all of his client's spending was done to improve the school's status. He accused prosecutors of making her a scapegoat for Texas Southern University's problems.

After listening to both sides for more than three hours, jurors deliberated for nearly 3 1/2 hours Monday before stopping for the day. Deliberations were set to resume Tuesday.

Slade, 55, is on trial for one of two counts of misapplication of fiduciary property with a value over $200,000. If convicted, she faces up to life in prison.

Prosecutors said that during Slade's more than six years as president of the state's largest historically black university, she spent more than $138,000 on landscaping, more than $56,000 on a high tech security system and more than $100,000 in furniture and other home decorations, including nearly $13,600 for custom silk bedding and window treatments.

"Why did TSU have to spend that money to beautify Priscilla Slade's bedroom?" prosecutor Julian Ramirez asked the jury.

Ramirez said the more than $523,000 Slade is accused of misspending could have been used better. "Eighty-five percent of TSU students are on financial aid," he said. "It's money she threw away."

But Mike DeGeurin, Slade's attorney, said Slade's spending was justified because it was done to improve TSU's image.

"You want your presidential house to be something that reflects an institution that is not a dusty, old institution but that it is something to be proud of," DeGeurin said.

DeGeurin said Slade never tried to hide her purchases and blamed the problems on other TSU employees who had mismanaged the paperwork. Two TSU workers were indicted, but one had charges dropped.

Witnesses who testified on Slade's behalf credited her with increasing enrollment, constructing new academic buildings and increasing donations to the school.

"Give Slade back her good name. Give her back her life," DeGeurin said. "She was the greatest thing that happened to Texas Southern University."

The allegations against Slade coincided with reports that revealed a pattern of financial mismanagement at TSU and prompted Gov. Rick Perry to call for a state takeover of the university that was later put on hold. The entire nine-member board of regents resigned at Perry's request.

Enrollment at TSU this fall, 9,544 students, is at its lowest in five years.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Jury deliberates in Priscilla Slade's Trial

"Texas Southern University's former president betrayed the trust of students, officials and the community when she put her needs ahead of the school's by misspending funds to lavishly decorate her homes, prosecutors told jurors Monday.

During closing arguments in the trial of Priscilla Slade, jurors were told she didn't care about being financially responsible when it came to spending school funds.

"That is the Priscilla Slade that duped the Legislature, Board of Regents and everybody that put their trust in her to put the mission of Texas Southern University (ahead of) herself," prosecutor Donna Goode said." |Read more|

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Please Support The HISD Bond Issue

I wholeheartedly support this bond issue. I hope you do too. Our children's education should be our number 1 priority.


Below are five key reasons to support this bond issue, which is worthy of the overwhelming support of all HISD communities:

• This program would primarily provide critical infrastructure funding for 24 new schools, and renovations to 139 others that received no funding in the prior two bond issues. These 163 schools cannot wait, as a visit to Crawford Elementary or Jackson Middle School makes obvious. Twenty of the new schools are for HISD's youngest elementary school students.

• If approved, the bond program would provide $90 million to upgrade safety and security in every school. In a post-Virginia Tech world we cannot do this quickly enough. Every parent and teacher has the right to expect the safest possible environment for the children.

• All secondary schools would receive $30 million for improved science labs to better prepare children for the scientific opportunities available in the job market. To see and experience science in quality facilities greatly enhances the learning process and stimulates children to engage in the classroom.

• While projects are distributed widely across the district, priority is given to those facilities most in need. HISD has relied on highly recognized outside experts to evaluate the architectural and engineering needs of each school according to its educational adequacy. Following extensive town hall meetings in the communities, HISD has further shown a willingness to modify those plans to fit the specific needs of the diverse communities of HISD.

• This bond package would require no tax increase to fund the program. Initially, a three-cent tax increase was proposed, but based on recently provided assessment information to HISD, this tax increase has been eliminated.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Can Anyone Trust Houston's Crime Lab?

When employees are accused of cheating on an open book proficiency test that assesses those employees knowledge of lab results, can anyone trust those results? Pass criminal cases should be evaluated in order to determine the accuracy of those convictions. Nothing could be worse than spending time in prison for a crime you did not commit. The crime lab already has a bad history.


The lab's DNA section was shut down in 2002 after an independent audit found inaccuracies in analysis procedures. Independent investigators have identified 180 blood-analysis cases from the 1980s and early 1990s which showed problems with HPD serology work.


CAN YOU IMAGINE BEING IN PRISON FOR A CRIME YOU DID NOT COMMIT?

This week, 47-year-old inmate Ronald Taylor, who has been in prison for 12 years on a rape charge, was exonerated after DNA retesting showed another man committed the crime. The Houston crime lab originally reported that it could not do a DNA analysis because a bed sheet it tested did not contain semen.

Two other men have been released from prison during the review of the crime lab's work.


IT MAKES ME WONDER WHETHER SOME OLD CRIMINAL CASES SHOULD BE REVIEWED AS WELL.

Although police officials said the alleged cheating did not affect any evidence, the Harris County District Attorney's Office is sending a letter to defense attorneys and defendants with pending cases involving work done by crime lab analysts.

Friday, October 5, 2007

Both Sides Have Rested in Priscilla Slade's Trial

After nearly seven weeks of testimony, both the defense and prosecution have rested in the criminal trial of former Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.

State District Judge Brock Thomas has scheduled closing arguments for 8:45 a.m. on Monday.

Attorneys on each side will have 90 minutes to make their final arguments.

Slade is charged with two felony counts of misapplication of fiduciary property. Prosecutors claim she spent public money for her personal benefit, specifically to buy furniture, landscaping and a security system for the home she built near Memorial Park.

If convicted of the charges, she could face probation or up to life in prison.

During the trial, prosecutors called more than 30 witnesses in an effort to prove their case that Slade knowingly and intentionally spent more than $500,000 without first getting approval from the university's board of regents.

The defense, however, countered with witnesses who testified that Slade had acted in the best interest of the university and its students by making her personal residence a place where she could entertain people who would potentially make substantial donations to Texas Southern.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Judge Gets Angry at Priscilla Slade's Trial

Maybe the lawyer who represented Priscilla Slade, during her contract negotiations, was trying to see if the judge would grant a mistrial in the case. Sometimes lawyers knowingly try various stunts in order to sway the jury.



"Tempers flared again in the trial of ousted TSU President Priscilla Slade after the lawyer who represented Slade during her contract negotiations brought up the fact that the district attorney's office had access to privileged attorney-client information during its investigation.

State District Judge Brock Thomas was visibly angered after attorney Vidal Martinez revealed information that Thomas had tried to shield from jurors.

Harris County Assistant District Attorney Donna Goode was cross-examining Martinez about the raise Slade was expecting in early 2006, before her spending came to light.

The school fired Slade in May 2006 after an internal investigation concluded that she and her former chief financial officer had failed to follow university policies and state laws to buy more than $260,000 in furniture, landscaping and security equipment for her house.

Slade is charged with misapplication of fiduciary property of more than $200,000, a first-degree felony punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison."

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Heavy Hitters Testify on Slade's Behalf

Yesterday some heavy hitters testified on Priscilla Slade's behalf. I still do not

believe that their testimony justifies her actions. The welfare of the university and its students should have been her main concern. Her position as President did not include personal enrichment through the misuse of unversity's funds.

Texas Gov. Mark White was waiting in the witness room to be called to testify on Slade's behalf.

Earlier, the jury heard from Delynn Walker, who was an assistant to Slade. She defended hundreds of dollars worth of charges that were made at Scott Gertner's Skybar in Montrose.

Walker testified that the expenses were justified because Slade and her staff were conducting official business in an effort to recruit new students.

Prosecutor Donna Goode asked Walker, "Why do you need to be drinking and spending hundreds of taxpayer dollars to recruit students? What TSU mission was being achieved by spending taxpayer money at 2 in the morning?"

Slade has been charged with two felony counts of misapplication of fiduciary property. Prosecutors maintain that Slade spent more than $500,000 of taxpayer money to furnish, landscape and install a security system at the home she had built near Memorial Park.

If convicted,Slade could face punishment ranging from probation to life in prison.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Deputy Fatally Run Over During Traffic Stop

Let us keep this Deputy's family in our prayers. I am sorry to hear that he lost his life simply for doing his job.

Investigators said Deputy Constable Jason Norling, 38, a motorcycle deputy, stopped a driver on suspicion of a traffic violation in the eastbound lanes of the Westpark Tollway near Gessner Road at about 10:20 a.m. Monday.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Texas Oilman Pleads Guilty

He is eighty-three years old. It is time to retire from crime. What a way to spend the next two years of your life.

Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt pleaded guilty Monday to participating in a scheme that paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to the former Iraqi government between 2000 and 2003 to secure contracts linked to the United Nations oil-for-food program.

Corruption In City Hall

I guess there is corruption everywhere. I am use to the corruption in New Orleans. Now I am reading the latest city hall corruption scandal in Dallas, Texas:




Former Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and state Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, were among the first officials to arrive this morning at the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse, where indictments are expected in an investigation of allegations of insider dealings at City Hall. Former City Council member James Fantroy arrived at the courthouse shortly before 10 a.m.

JUAN GARCIA/DMN

State Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, arrives at the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse in Dallas Monday morning.


U.S. Attorney Richard Roper has scheduled a news conference for 11 a.m. in which he will announce the unsealing of federal indictments in the investigation.

An official with the U.S. Marshals Service said 16 people were expected to turn themselves in through Tuesday.

Mr. Hill would not say whether he believes he will face charges. “We won’t know anything until we get in here,” he said.

He was with his wife, Sheila Farrington, a consultant also under investigation. The U.S. Marshals Service official confirmed that both were in custody.

A few minutes later, Dallas commercial developer Darren Reagan surrendered to the U.S. Marshall’s Office with his attorney, Ron Wells, who said that Mr. Reagan has been indicted on bribery and extortion charges. Mr. Wells said he won’t know specifics about the charges until he sees the indictment.

He was followed by Ms. Hodge, who refused to comment as she walked into the courthouse and into an elevator. She was with her attorney, Larry Jarrett, a former assistant U.S. attorney who was a candidate for Dallas County district attorney in the last election.

Mr. Jarrett said another client, former NFL athlete Kevin Dean, will also surrender today. Mr. Dean’s company, KDAT, was named in a federal subpoena during the FBI investigation.

Albert Black, former chairman of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, went to the courthouse to offer support for his friend, Ms. Hodge.

“She’s as tough as she can be,” Mr. Black said. I think they’ll do just fine. We think this is a distressful moment for her ...

"With the kind of counsel she has, they’ll be able to sort it out, and that’s what’s important about a fair jurisprudance process.”

D’Angelo Lee former city plan commissioner, professed his innocence as he walked into the courthouse.

“I am ready for it to all be over,” Mr. Lee said. “It’s been going on for too long — two and a half years —and I’m just ready for the chips to fall.”

Former City Council member James Fantroy arrived at the courthouse in a wheelchair shortly before 10 a.m. He was accompanied by his attorney, Cheryl Wattley.

"I am not making any comment except to say, 'Get out of our way,'" Ms. Wattley said. Mr. Fantroy made no comment.

Federal prosecutors are expected to unseal indictments today with charges including conspiracy, tax evasion, bribery and money laundering, according to several sources familiar with the investigation. As many as 14 people could be indicted.

A grand jury handed up sealed indictments late last week, and attorneys for some of the defendants have been told to surrender their clients today at the U.S. Marshals Service office in downtown Dallas. The defendants are expected to make initial appearances in front of a magistrate judge starting today, but some may be held over until Tuesday, sources say.

The indictment would culminate an FBI investigation into public corruption in Dallas that began publicly 27 months ago, when federal agents raided Mr. Hill’s City Hall office.

Poor Pricilla Slade - One Wasted Life

I don't know why Priscilla Slade would want to throw her life away like this. There is nothing, in life, worth stealing for. Besides, criminals are always caught.



Prosecutors will soon wrap up their case against former Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.Slade, 55, is charged with two felony counts of misapplication of fiduciary property. If convicted, she could face punishment ranging from probation to life in prison.