DNA Sample Taken From Sect Leader Warren Jeffs

Can the sample be used to find out how many of the children, that are in state custody, are Warren Jeffs? It would be ashame for the state to release those kids without knowing how many children he fathered by underaged girls.

Texas investigators collected DNA samples from jailed polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs, accusing him of sexual assault of a child stemming from so-called "spiritual" marriages with girls as young as 12 years old.

The samples were taken as part of an investigation into whether Jeffs sexually assaulted four girls at the Yearning For Zion Ranch in west Texas in January 2004 and July 2006. Placed on the FBI's most-wanted list in May 2006, he was arrested outside Las Vegas that August.

Sheriff Tommy Thomas Should Resign

How much more should we have to tolerate?

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office was slapped with a big civil rights lawsuit on Thursday. The five plaintiffs include the Ibarra brothers, a local business owner and a judge.

Business owner Loyd Henderson is one of the plaintiffs. His company’s own security camera captured an exchange between him and a Harris County sheriff’s deputy. The video shows Henderson behind the counter, reaching for his license when – without warning – the deputy grabs Henderson and shoves him against the counter and then onto the ground before handcuffing him.

Illegal Immigrants Are Welcome

We need help with dealing with illegal immigrants. The question is, will we get it?

A federal judge has denied a Dallas suburb's request to have its latest rule banning home and apartment rentals to illegal immigrants declared constitutional.

The decision issued Wednesday focused on a Farmers Branch ordinance that would require prospective tenants to get a rental license from the city. Farmers Branch would ask the federal government for the applicant's legal status before approving the rental license. It was set to take effect 15 days after a ruling on a similar ordinance currently being contested in court.

What's in a title: Newborn Sect Child

State to retain custody of newborn sect child

By now everyone knows when they see the word "sect", it is more news about the polygamy compound that was raided by federal authorities. Newborn now becomes the latest headline:

The state will retain custody of a newborn born to members of a West Texas polygamous sect, attorneys for two sides in the biggest custody battle in state history agreed today.

The baby, Richard Daniel Jessop, who was born on May 12, more than a month after authorities raided the ranch outside Eldorado where his parents lived, will remain in state protective custody along with his two older siblings. Their mother, Louisa Bradshaw Jessop, 22, will be permitted to live with her children, under state supervision, at a soon-to-be-chosen residence.

Outrage Over Quintero Sentence

We all should be expressing public outrage over Juan Leonardo Quintero not receiving a death sentence for killing officer Rodney Johnson. I am glad that one of the jury members has decided to speak out:

A juror who advocated executing Juan Leonardo Quintero for murdering a Houston policeman blasted her fellow jurors who sentenced the Mexican national to life without parole.

In an emotional telephone interview today, Cypress secretary Cindy Bradford, 44, called for a change in state law that requires only 10 jurors to agree to a life-without-parole sentence.

We should be ashamed of ourselves for sitting quietly by while this brutal, vicious cop killer's life is spared.

Polygamist Sect Kids May Soon Go Home

Thou hath no right to take the children may be the words the polygamist sect members could be singing right now:

A Texas appeals court ruled today that a San Angelo judge exceeded her discretion when she ordered the state to take custody of children from a polygamist sect.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the decision means the children will be returned right away to the custody of their parents, followers of a breakaway Mormon sect called the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Maybe one day the criminal justice system will recognize that we all should be concerned with children's mental/emotional safety as well.

Joe Horn Case Goes Before Grand Jury

The case of Joe Horn has been a touchy subject for most Texans who believe that Joe Horn was well within his right to shoot two burglars who were burglarizing his neighbor's home. There are also others who believe that Mr. Horn overstepped his boundaries when he shot and killed the burglars. This controversy may once and for all be resolved:

Grand jurors next month will hear the case of a Pasadena man accused of fatally shooting two burglary suspects as they ran near his property.

Investigators have said Joe Horn admitted to killing Diego Ortiz and Hernando Riascos Torres after he reported seeing them break into a neighbor's home. Both were shot in the back with a 12-gauge shotgun, Pasadena police said.

Police Officer's Killer Gets Life

My mouth is still open as I write this because this is definitely a case where the death penalty should have been imposed:

Jurors decided Tuesday that Juan Leonardo Quintero should spend the rest of his life in prison, rather than go to death row, for Johnson's 2006 murder.

The decision came in the second day of deliberations for the jury, which convicted Quintero of capital murder on May 8 in the court of state District Judge Joan Campbell.


Somebody should have wiped the smile off the killer's face when the verdict was read.

Harris County Sheriff's Office Dirty Deed Under Scrutiny

Why were these innocent men put under surveillance? Well, some lawmakers are asking that question:

State Sen. Rodney Ellis and other lawmakers today said they have asked the Texas attorney general to investigate the Harris County Sheriff's Office's surveillance of two brothers who successfully sued the county and the Sheriff's Office.

Ellis, D-Houston, said the recent disclosure that sheriff's deputies were assigned to watch Erik and Sean Ibarra amounts to Gestapo tactics.

The Ibarra brothers filed a federal lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office and Harris County in 2004, alleging their civil rights were violated when deputies stormed their home, seized their film and arrested them after one of the brothers photographed a drug raid at a neighbor's home.

Although they were not charged with a crime, could it be that the sheriff's office was trying to frame them for a crime?

What Is A Sister-Wife To Do?

That may be the question the attorneys don't want answered:

Attorneys for ''disputed" minor girls taken from a West Texas ranch owned by fundamentalist Mormons say their clients have been taken from state foster homes to undergo videotaped law enforcement interviews without legal counsel.

They were asked to identify their children's father and to name their ''sister'' wives.

Who is your baby daddy will probably lead to other disputes.