Texas judge confirms video of him beating daughter, says 'I lost my temper'

[blueclown]

Source: CNN

Dallas (CNN) -- A Texas judge faces a police investigation and judicial probe after a video showing him beating his then-16-year-old disabled daughter was posted on the Internet.

The graphic video drew international outrage after it was posted by a woman who said she was the victim of the beating seven years ago -- and that her parents, including her father, Aransas County, Texas, Court-At-Law Judge William Adams -- were the ones seen beating and cursing at her in the video.

On Wednesday afternoon, Judge Adams was temporarily relieved of his duties for the next two weeks, and a visiting judge will take over his caseload while the matter is being investigated, according to the office of Aransas County Administrative Judge Burt Mills.

No court dates were scheduled this week, Mills' office said.

In an interview with KZTV outside his Rockport, Texas, home Wednesday, Adams confirmed to a reporter that he was the man beating his daughter with a belt and a board on the video, taped in 2004.

"She's mad because I've ordered her to bring the car back, in a nutshell, but yeah, that's me. I lost my temper," Adams told the TV station. "Her mother was there, she wasn't hurt ... it was a long time ago ... I really don't want to get into this right now because as you can see my life's been made very difficult over this child."



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/02/justice/texas-video-beating/?hpt=ju_c2

---

This man should lose his job, effective immediately. Anything other than that is an outreageous miscarriage of justice. He should also be tried for child abuse.

Warning: The video is very graphic and disturbing.

[Demeter]

1. Who filmed it?

What a weird story.

[blueclown]

3. A webcam.

[47of74]

2. Note to that sick piece of work judge

I don't care when it was, I don't care if you don't think she was hurt, and I don't fucking care if you had a personal note from God complete with stone tablets! You had no right to beat her like that. If you had any decency you would resign your judgeship and surrender your law license goddamn yesterday.

[Lint Head]

4. I was whipped with a belt as a child. It changed me and I've had to deal with it

my entire life.

[nolabear]

21. I know the feeling. Took me far too long to realize it was beating.

I knew it was a horrible experience, I knew it hurt and made welts and broke skin and I was ashamed o go to school. I know I screamed and pleaded and lost all understanding sometimes of what I had done or why it was happening. I know I told myself crazy shit like I was lucky it was only a belt and my friend whose father used a coat hanger was REALLY being beaten.

That video takes me places I don't ever want to go again. It was real, all right.

[No Elephants]

26. I am so sorry that happened to you and your friend.

[AverageJoe90]

67. Seconded and agreed. nt

NO kid deserves to be beaten, PERIOD.

[No Elephants]

25. I am so sorry that happened to you.

[Le Taz Hot]

55. Me too.

Except they called it "spanking" so it was OK. :eyes: Belts, wire hangers, shoes, whatever was handy. The damage done by "spanking" (usually being done by a person/persons who are SUPPOSED to be protecting you) is incalculable and takes years and years to work through -- if one ever does.

[Odin2005]

84. People think I'm crazy when I call spanking child abuse.

We are a country of violent brutes. :(

[shanti]

63. many of us boomers

suffered the same indignities. :(

[LiberalEsto]

75. ditto

:hug:

[donheld]

77. Me too.

:hug:

[yellowcanine]

5. ....as you can see my life's been made very difficult over this child."

Words fail. This guy is a scumball. This is his beautiful accomplished daughter he is talking about as if she is just an annoyance to him. I saw the pictures of her playing the piano. I have two lovely daughters of my own and I would be thrilled to have a third one like her. He does not deserve to have a daughter like that.

[wordpix]

18. my mom has Alzheimer's which is difficult, too, judge--- but I cherish her

You're the lowest of the low and belong in jail for beating a child. Special needs people can be trying sometimes but no one deserves that. Take your frustrations out on folding the jail laundry, instead.

[NYC_SKP]

6. And he had help, there's a woman/mom/girlfriend in there too.

Accomplice.

Jail them both.

[BlueIris]

60. Sicko enabler. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

61. I'm prepared to cut the mother a little slack....

And defer to the, now adult, daughter who says mom was also a victim.

Also, it appears the mother is trying to "cover" for the daughter in at least two instances. At the beginning of the video she tells "dad" she has already spanked her. And then she hits the daughter once trying to satisfy the father.

I'm going to assume mom knows the feeling of dad's belt and she was trying to mitigate.

[Guest1]

81. Mother may have been trying to help the only way she knew how

I know the mother is just as wrong as the judge, but I get the feeling that she wanted it to stop. I think she wanted to do it instead of the judge because she wouldn't be as brutal and she thought that would help to end the abuse for that time. As you see, she took the belt from the judge, only hit her once and she made sure it was on her butt. She took the belt from him to make him stop. Obviously it didn't work at all, but I think the mom was actually trying to show the poor child compassion here in the only way she knew how in a mentally abusive relationship.

Did you ever see Roots where there was a lynching going on of a slave who they had tied to a tree? Well this slave's master was actually one of the "good" white people and he told the brutal mob to stop lynching his slave, he would lynch his own slave. So he started lynching him in front of them, making it look real and as the crazy mob drove away, the "good" slave master started lynching the ground so that he could give the apearance that he was still very angry and carrying on the lynching until the mob was out of site. He actually saved the poor slave from the mob lynching him to death. I know this isn't the same situation but I really feel like that's what the mother was trying to do and apparently that's how she would try to protect her and that wasn't the first time. Because the judge knew he had to go and get another belt.

Why did he have turn out the light? I hope this scares chronic abusers to watch themselves because people are getting smarter and technology will help this to stop. I feel very sorry for her but I'm very proud of this young lady. I think this may help a lot of people, not just her.

[provis99]

7. He forgot the Third Rule of being a suspect:

"Deny, deny, deny."

[madaboutharry]

8. The saddest part of this story

Is that he doesn't love his daughter.

He is angry and bitter that she has a disability and sees her only in terms of how it changed his life. This is a selfish and unkind man.

[blueclown]

9. He's also a Republican.

In addition to being selfish and unkind. I know, kind of a redundant description.

Lock him up.

[Bosso 63]

10. I want to see some justice for this SOB.

[harvey007]

11. Lock up this sick pervert

I was "spanked" with a belt as well, so this was especially hard to watch.

I hope this monster gets what he deserves - prison.

And the mother --- what a sicko.

Disgusting.

[Uben]

12. Yeah well, many a man is serving time for losing their temper

His let his failure to control emotions become a crime. Certainly not worthy of wearing a robe. HE's toast!

[harvey007]

13. Someone needs to make a citizens arrest

http://www.aransascountytx.gov/main/

Judge William Adams
Aransas County Courthouse
301 N. Live Oak St. Rockport, TX 78382.
Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone].

[No Elephants]

27. A citizen's arrest applies to a crime in progress. You'd probably have to take

up residence in his home to catch him beating his disabled child.

Besides, I'd bet this guy is well armed.

Note. state laws many vary, but none of us has a license to be a vigilante at random.

[iamthebandfanman]

14. wow , see him trying to make himself the victim?

what a sicko.

[No Elephants]

28. Excellent observation. Republicans take personal responsiblity for absolutely nothing--

except for telling others totake personal responsibility.

They're all up in the "do as I say (at every opportunity), not as I do" form of taking personal responsiblity.

[iamthebandfanman]

30. oh trust me i know

just had an argument with a woman a few days ago who said 'people should plan ahead' to have insurance like everyone else does instead of loading it onto other people..
to which i responded..

'so, your parents should have planned ahead and sent you to private school... wanna give that public high school degree back we all paid for since your parents did such a shit job planning ahead?'

of course i got the 'its not the same!' response.

silly me, duh it wasnt the same ..because it affected her in that scenario :P lol


whats really disturbing is this guy decided if other people broke the law or not. wonder how many abusers he convicted while doing the same thing himself?

[boppers]

38. It's worse than that.

He had developed a reputation for *not* punishing abusers. He wasn't a hypocrite, he was an enabler.

[KurtNYC]

15. obviously she taped it because it wasn't the first or only time

control freak

[BrendaBrick]

16. Does anyone know

if the daughter is in a place where she is safe & protected? Is she still 16? Can or is a stable relative stepping in here...or anyone else who is stable? Surely she is NOT with him - is she????

[boppers]

29. She was 16 in 2004.

She's 23 now, and doesn't live with him.

[BrendaBrick]

44. Thanks. Good to know.

Anyone know how she is doing...NOW?

[boppers]

48. She's living with mom.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57316508/texas-judge-beating-video-causing-outrage/

[left on green only]

71. I wonder where her today 13yo sister is now living?

She was 6yo when the video was made and she can be seen briefly in the lower RH corner of the frame, at the start of the video (at least you can see her in the original incarnation of the video). Her name is Alison, and at the start of the scene, "Judge Adams" instructs his wife to get her out of the room before he begins to lay into her sister, Hillary with the belt.

[boppers]

79. She's spending most of her time with the mother.

They have joint custody, he's fighting for sole custody.

Fat chance of that ever happening, now.

[Guest1]

82. Do you think he beat the 6yo also?

Do you think he beat the 6yo also? That is so scary.

[UpInArms]

17. he needs to be required to pay whatever cost it is to

have his daughter go through a counseling program that helps her to understand that this behavior is not acceptable, not normal and not her fault - however long it takes for her to get to a point where this does not affect her ability to define herself and her future - her past or any part of her - that this defines him and his future and his past - and somehow sets her free from him in any manner.

From personal experience - that's a long long long road.

sigh

[No Elephants]

31. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

[1StrongBlackMan]

19. "I lost my temper."

Okay ... I so hope that the next time he goes out for a drink, some drunk guy/gal kicks the living shit out of him. So that at the trial the defendant can say: "I lost my temper ... You know, my life has been kind of rough lately."

At which point the defendant's attorney can ask the good plaintiff/judge to voluntarily withdraw all charges. So when the good plaintiff/judge indignantly refuses, the defendant's attorney can play this tape and ask: "If your explanation was excuse enough for you, why isn't it excuse enough for my client?"

Problem is ... with these type, the point would be lost on this guy because in their mind their case is ALWAYS different.

[Ken Burch]

20. "I lost my temper" is NOT an excuse

This man needs to be fired AND prosecuted...NOW.

[Ken Burch]

22. Can somebody tell me why it was so important to this bastard

to be able to hit the girl in the legs? Bad enough that he had to hit her...why was he insisting that it be on the legs?

And how could it be THAT unforgiveable that she was playing computer games?

(just trying to understand this mindset).

[nolabear]

23. Because that's his justification. It's "whipping". "Beating" is other parts of the body.

I'm not kidding. People tell themselves stuff like this.

And the fact that welts and bruises on the legs are easily covered is just icing, right?

I HATE this. I hate it.

[No Elephants]

36. Guess I am out of touch. Is whipping supposed to be better than beating?

[nolabear]

39. As I said, people use all kinds of ways to justify what they do.

To me it's the same as beating, and does terrible damage, and should be illegal. But in the culture in which I and many others grew up it was, and is, condoned. I remember Richard Pryor doing a routine about being told to go cut a switch be whipped with, and walking along swishing it back and forth, hearing it whistling in the air and crying.

Here's a bit of it:

http://youtu.be/OPMwN1_vEjM

I had to do that too. Switches and belts. Electrical cords seem to have come later, as belts went out of fashion.

God this is a horrible topic, isn't it?

[boppers]

32. It wasn't for playing computer games.

It was installing and using Kazaa to download games and music, without paying for said games and music, in defiance of prior instructions.

In another interview, he claimed he was "disciplining" her for "stealing".

[Ken Burch]

37. It's not as if installing Kazaa makes what he did ok.

It should have been enough for him to just "de-install" it.

Sick bastard.

[boppers]

40. I was trying to help explain his mindset.

Abusers often have "reasons" like this, as a form of rationalization... "she brought it on herself" kind of things.

[Ken Burch]

41. I see. Sorry.

My wife, who died a number of years ago, had been a victim of childhood abuse and this is always something close to the surface with me.

Didn't mean to lash out at you.

[boppers]

47. No problem.

I'm a survivor as well (I hate, hate, hate, being called a "victim", fuck that, their power over me IS SO FUCKING OVER.).... sometimes wires just get crossed.

As part of my personal lifelong coping/healing process (it never seems to end, FFS), I wound up having to dig really deep into understanding the "why", the mindset of abusers.

Here's my general take:
Abusers were often abused themselves, sadly enough. This leaves them scarred, and scared, and fearful, which leads them towards lives of rigidity and control.... to protect themselves from any more abuse, which is deeply imprinted into the corners of their brain.

It's not that they really want to *hurt* others, it's that they want others to *not hurt* them. How this manifests, though, is the really ugly part. In this context:
1. Daughter is being unpredictable.
2. Daughter is "committing crimes", which could potentially subject the parent to future pain.
3. Daughter is being defiant, by not "following orders", which leads to a loss of a feeling of safety and control on behalf of the parent.
4. To "prevent future abuse" to one's self, they abuse others (as that's how they learned to control an environment).... to regain a feeling of control. In short: "If I hit them, I won't be hit."

Vicious fucking cycle, eh?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

74. Sure gives one an understanding of psychology, though

I had no trouble identifying the type of selfish, violent, cowardly, authoritarian, irresponsible, self-serving, out-of-control sicko this guy is.
I too come from a background of abuse...

taken me a loooong time to rejoin the human race. I imprinted on abuse and had no other view of myself except as 'victim' for a long time.

true, it never "goes away"; it's always interesting when people are talking about their childhoods (assuming we're talking about people who were raised by sane parents). I always feel like I just dropped in from another planet.

[No Elephants]

35. Trying to understand this mindset is not good for you

[BrendaBrick]

43. Mindset = Monster(s)

In every sense of the word. Yeah. I know. (I also had a hard time trying to wrap my head around it.)

They probably just blindly assumed that no one could call him out on it and he and she just acted accordingly under their own ill-advised, warped, subconscious premise that they were alone in their own house and that no one would ever be the wiser to witness these awful, markedly 'private' horrific acts.

Mistake #1.

See, that's the thing with these monsters...they pretty much think that they are above the law because well, by and large, they look at their offspring as mere properties...prey, objects, someone or something that they own, to just naturally exploit at their whim - a potential weak-less and vulnerable depository of a person who is not that hard at all to oppress given the particular circumstances and not exactly in a position to be able to retaliate... and also because of all the screwed-up family, generational dynamics that, as mature, responsible adults - they should have had AT LEAST the slightest inkling or even a hint of emotional wherewith-all to at least acknowledge these deficiencies first and foremost, and at the very minimum and ideally - to address and deal with...and yet, in this awful end fail (CHOOSE?) miserably to launch their own angst in this area...opting rather to project it towards an innocent, bystander person instead.

This is sadly the bottom line result as I see it.

What's even more sad is that I suspect that this is not at all, an isolated case...but it sure is good that it is getting some well needed press if there is to be some kind of silver lining here with all of this ~

Lesson #2 - Let this be a heads-up to the rest of ya'll who think you can get away with this kind of shit! The generation coming up nowadays is quite savvy and sophisticated...and I am so glad that they are!

The world is watching...not only in clear public view, but also in the dark recesses as well.

[Laluchacontinua]

45. I think he said he hit her on the legs because she wouldn't turn over.

I can't explain the mindset.

[robbob]

72. Nobody has mentioned yet

But I was truly shocked at his repeated insistence that she turn over so he can whip her on the "bottom" (= ass). It just seemed to me that there is some twisted sexual perversion going on and he wants to do this for some sick thrill. Or am I reading to much into it?

[Laluchacontinua]

73. I think you're reading too much into it.

[jtuck004]

46. Because it helps him think that he is different from people like my father,

I guarantee the judge thinks he is better, because my father's actions were much more vicious and hurtful than this video (hated tasting those belt buckles). Yet dad thought he was better than his father, who used to come home drunk and beat on him, so much so that he would go sleep in the sand traps on the golf course in the little town, because my dad wasn't much of a drinker. None of them are really any different, of course. I suspect my impulsiveness and quick anger are probably tied to that, though I like to think I am more aware, and don't much resort to physical violence. Because, you see, I am better/different than them. ;)

In the judge's mind he is not at all like those he sends to jail for assault or child abuse. And he can feel quite holier than they are when he does it.

It didn't matter that she was playing computer games, or anything else. It wasn't about discipline, like rape isn't about sex. It's about aggression, anger, and hurting someone to feed your bitter, dark excuse for a spirit. (Somewhat, I suspect, like being a mean-spirited anonymous jerk on the Internet who responds as such for no apparent reason).

I know some of what she felt/feels. It happened to her with enough regularity that she knew it was gonna happen again, so she could set up the camera. And she held onto this for 7 freaking' years. It lets me judge people a little less harshly when they shoot co-workers or strangers, or even blow people up, because I suspect many of them had something like this in their background. It stays with you.

Lots of people live a life similar to this victim, both young and old. That leads me to wondering who has the harder time - a child who grows up with this vs someone who doesn't experience it until the end of their life when they are much more vulnerable and don't have the defense mechanisms in place? What a sad question...

[noiretextatique]

68. a part of his rage against this poor kid: she refused to lay on her stomach

the coward/freak wanted to hit her on the behind. he is a control freak and she "defied" him by downloading and playing games and music. she "defied" him again by refusing him her behind for his assault. :puke: disgusting coward.

[liskddksil]

24. "This child"...that's how he refers to his daughter.

[alp227]

33. Mark Ciavarella would like a smart cellmate! nt

[Little Tich]

34. I think it's wrong to hit children, your own as well as those of others.

The fact that the hitter is a judge makes it worse, for he cannot use lack of education and ignorance as an excuse.

[Sub Atomic]

42. Spare the rod and spoil the child. To hell with what humanity might think.

Right judge?

Go eat a bowl of dicks with a spoon you asshole. You'd best pray that you and I never meet face to face.

I'd hate to take out my anger over what my dead mother did to me on you.



Not.

[AverageJoe90]

69. Sorry about that. =( nt

[Tsiyu]

49. Your life has been made difficult because YOU made it so

Judge Adams. Your daughter didn't make you beat her, as you are implying. You CHOSE that course.

I can't see how anyone could allow him to hear any child abuse cases from this moment forward. And they should immediately order a review of all cases where he presided over victims of child abuse.

I hope many people come forward who were victims in his courtroom as well. He is a disgrace as a judge.

[hamsterjill]

58. Agreed! Plus, if he thought things were difficult before...

I hope he enjoys how difficult things are going to be after all of this. He will most assuredly have to resign his judgeship at a minimum.

Personally, I think the daughter is to be commended for having the intellect and the courage to set the webcam! Above and beyond what this sick bastard did to her, she outsmarted him by getting the video. This "difficult" child was pretty damn smart!

[SKKY]

50. I read this quote and my jaw just dropped...

"I lost my temper," Adams told KRIS-TV. "Her mother was there, she wasn't hurt... it was a long time ago... I really don't want to get into this right now because as you can see my life's been made very difficult over this child." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45135221/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

DUDE, you beat the crap out of your kid!!!! You're life hasn't been made difficult "...over this child." It's been made difficult because you're a sick fuck who has a serious anger problem who refuses to recognize that fact. I would love, love, love to give him a dose of what she went through in that 7 minutes of hell.

[boppers]

51. He probably lived it already.

Sad thing, that.

[SKKY]

52. Great point. So did I...

...and I would never, ever do that. I know what conventional wisdom states, but I still maintain it's a conscious choice, beating your kid. And it's one I would never, ever make.

[boppers]

53. Here's the outlet I "give" my abusers:

Not all people know what choices they can make.

[noiretextatique]

70. the pathetic loser actually blames his daughter

:puke: i'd stand in a long line to slap this idiot upside the head

[mod mom]

54. WTF? "my life's been made very difficult over this child." How about some responsibility?

He deserves prison time and to be disbarred.

[hamsterjill]

62. Oh, he's probably just like the dude who fined his wife for giving birth to a daughter

That story was on DU earlier this week.

In this judge's view, he probably blames the wife for giving birth to a child with a disability, and is probably (in his own stupid mind) ashamed of the child.

The young lady appeared very articulate and knowledgeable, mature and compassionate, on the blip I saw on the Today Show earlier. The judge SHOULD be very proud of his daughter for the young lady she has become despite his abuse.

[Ian David]

56. Also, in his defense, he had to use a belt to avoid hurting his hand.

:sarcasm:

[raccoon]

57. Most of the time when a parent/caregiver beats/whips/spanks a child,

it's about the parent being pissed off--not about whatever the child did or didn't do.

And of course, this is no way acceptable. I was beaten with a flyswatter and yardstick.

It didn't teach me a damn thing, surprise, surprise.

[Arugula Latte]

59. He lost his temper for a couple decades.

Long-time abuser. I'm so glad this cockroach is exposed to the light.

[NoodleyAppendage]

64. "...this child." That little phrase by the sociopath judge says it all.

It's not "my child" or "our child," it's "...this child" indicating an emotional separation and thought of the child in question as property or an object.

It's likely that he is not suffering because it would take a conscience to produce real suffering.

[laundry_queen]

76. Doesn't it though?

What a POS.

[FlyByNight]

65. "I lost my temper"

Understatement of the year.

:grr:

[lucca18]

66. Beyond horrible....

Someone was being interviewed (who knew the judge), and she stated that maybe he went too far, and there are two sides to every story. What?!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing!!

[CoffeeCat]

78. This man is a typical abuser...

When confronted with his crimes, he has absolutely no remorse or empathy for the victim.

He is the victim now. In his words, "My life has been made very difficult over this child". She is an object to him. She most likely
always has been. In order to treat someone with such disdain and disregard, you can't have empathy for them. They are merely a repository
for your anger and your ugliness.

That's how he was able to beat her, and be unemotional about her cries and screaming. A normal human being and father couldn't bear
doing that to his child.

So now, when he's caught--she's making his life difficult.

What a sick bastard. We're all reacting to what you DID on the video--you sick abuser. You deserve to be outted for the animal
that you are, and your own current shame and embarrassment are of your own doing.

This man is a sociopath, and I hope that somehow he loses his job and more, because of his mental defects and his crimes against his own child.

[classysassy]

80. The honorable Judge

Was he a republican?

[Odin2005]

83. Giving your DISBALED DAUGHTER a vicious beating like that is not "losing your temper".

It is sick, evil SADISM, you asshole! :grr: