Texas GOP to call on Rick Perry to immediately pardon Tom DeLay

[somone]

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/politics/entries/2010/12/01/srec_to_consider_calling_for_d.html

Members of the State Republican Executive Committee will consider a resolution this weekend calling on Gov. Rick Perry to immediately pardon former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who last week was convicted on felony counts of conspiracy and money laundering. The SREC consists of two members from each of the state’s 31 Senate districts, and it serves as a board of directors, of sorts, for the state party. Members are elected at the state GOP convention. Below is the entirety of the DeLay resolution submitted by committee member Clint Moore of Spring:

Whereas, then-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle desperately tried to get five Travis County grand juries to indict then-U.S. House Republican Majority Leader, Tom Delay, on criminal political money laundering charges, based on Earle’s politically-biased beliefs and partisan interpretation of history...

Be it resolved, that the State Republican Executive Committee calls upon Governor Rick Perry to immediately issue a total pardon of Mr. Delay on all charges, in order to end the absurd political circus and gross abuse of our judicial system by Earle and his successor, as well as the corrupt Democrat judges of that county...

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Chances are the cockroach will never spend a day in jail.

[DonCoquixote]

1. Ugh

Now, I do remember that Texas is the home of molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson, all liberals of the first division.

That being said, sometimes I am tempted to let Texas finally become a country, but then i realize, they would keep all their damn nukes, and probably nuke Mexico!

[Subdivisions]

2. Because the rule of law does not apply to elitists. n/t

[Ken Burch]

3. What a surprise.

They'll pardon DeLay, but they'll never stop any of the executions.

[City Lights]

4. Shocking!

They're so predictable.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Make sure to bring it up when they come up for reelection. nt

[gratuitous]

6. Even in their written resolution, they can't resist

". . . as well as the corrupt Democrat judges."

Hey boys, if there are corrupt judges in Texas as you allege, don't you think you should get an investigation going? Or are you just posturing your poutrage? We'll see if the party's executive committee is as petty and childish as Clint Moore. Magic 8 Ball says "Signs Point to Yes."

[Orsino]

7. Can you imagine the songs that yellow canary could sing if permitted to go to jail?

Watch whomever cries the loudest for a pardon.

[derby378]

8. Waitaminnit - is Perry even capable of pardoning DeLay?

Was he convicted of state or Federal charges? If Federal, Perry can't do a damn thing, right?

[madrchsod]

10. the feds dropped the charges against him ...

you`ll have to google for the reasons.

ya, he`ll walk.

[madmax]

9. Two sets of laws

One for 'them'.

One for 'everybody else'.


:mad:

[randr]

11. Maybe some of the same swine that benefited from

DeLay's corrupt behavior. Texas, go figure.

[UTUSN]

12. K&R #10 or whatever, for, well, of COURSE!1 n/t

[musette_sf]

13. ......

[somone]

14. That hovel is cramped and not fancy enough for him:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051810dntexperry.111239fa.html

AUSTIN -- With the state facing a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has spent almost $600,000 in public money during the past two years to live in a sprawling rental home in the hills above the capital, according to records obtained by The Associated Press. It costs more than $10,000 a month in rent, utilities and upkeep to house Perry in a five-bedroom, seven-bath mansion that has pecan-wood floors, a gourmet kitchen and three dining rooms. Perry has also spent $130,000 in campaign donations to throw parties, buy food and drink, and pay for cable TV and a host of other services since he moved in, the records show...

His 6,386-square-foot rental sits on more than three acres and was advertised in 2007 for sale at $1.85 million. Perry's state-paid expenses at the home include $18,000 for "consumables" such as household supplies and cleaning products, $1,001.46 in window coverings from upscale retailer Neiman Marcus, a $1,000 "emergency repair" of the governor's filtered ice machine, a $700 clothes rack, and a little over $70 for a two year subscription to Food & Wine Magazine. Maintenance on the heated pool has cost taxpayers at least $8,400, and the tab for grounds and lawn maintenance has topped $44,000, the records show. All told, taxpayers have spent at least $592,000 for rent, utilities, repairs, furnishings and supplies since Perry moved in.

By comparison, the Texas governor's mansion is wholly owned by the state - there is no rent or mortgage to pay. As currently configured, it has about 9,900 total square feet, but most is public space packed with historic artifacts. Only 2,750 square feet is dedicated to the governor's residence.

[Odin2005]

15. Of course he will be pardoned. The law is for us little people.

[PDittie]

16. Why Perry cannot pardon DeLay:

Thanks to Govs. Ma and Pa Ferguson selling pardons, the state Constitution limits the governor's pardon authority. Perry can only grant a pardon on the recommendation of a majority of the Board of Pardons and Paroles.

And DeLay would not be eligible for a pardon under the board's rules:

The Board will consider Full Pardon requests for the following cases: (01) Individuals on parole/mandatory supervision/annual report must have been under supervision for at least one (1) year without any violations during the last twelve (12) months. (02) Former TDC or TDCJ-ID inmates who have discharged their sentences. (03) Probated sentences (completed, unless unusual circumstances). (04) Suspended sentences (completed). (05) Jail sentences (completed). (06) Misdemeanor sentences (completed).

What's not in this list is the fact that the person seeking a pardon also must have exhausted his remedies in court. That means DeLay could not apply until after his appeals are done. The minimum sentence DeLay faces is five years probation, so the earliest he could apply for a pardon would be December 2015, a year after Perry's new term of office expires.

The only other route is a request for a pardon on the grounds of innocence. But that requires two officers of the court of conviction to certify the defendant was wrongfully convicted. Wouldn't count on the Travis County District Attorney's office doing that.

http://blogs.chron.com/texaspolitics/archives/2010/12/why_gov_rick_pe.html

Now what the state Lege could do -- in the session that begins next month -- is take away the authority of the Travis County DA over ethics crimes committed by legislators, placing it under the purview of the OAG or something else. The effect being to whitewash or just ignore the crimes altogether. They tried it before when Ronnie Earle was prosecuting KBH, but didn't have the votes. They have them now.

I suspect that 82nd Texas Legislature will fairly quickly make sure there will be no more prosecutions of unethical legislators. The Texas Republicans will be giving everybody a pass in the future.

And the 3rd CCA, comprised mostly of Republicans also, will likely grant his appeal but even if they don't, the 100% Republican state Supreme Court will almost surely do so ... particularly in the wake of Citizens United.

So yes, the Hammer very probably won't spend even a day in the slammer.

[somone]

17. Problem with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles

is that every member of the board is a Perry appointee. Perry controls his government appointees with an iron fist - he has forced out university presidents and trustees who didn't do what he wanted. The parole board is a secretive bunch who make life-or-death decisions by fax, and their secrecy is protected by Texas law:

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-dept-criminal-justice/death-penalty/secretive-board-makes-death-row-decisions/
The seven-member board makes life-or-death decisions, recommending to the governor whether an execution should be delayed, called off or carried out. Yet it’s one of the least transparent agencies in state government, making it all but impossible for Owen, or any other member of the public, to decipher how or why it makes decisions. The board doesn't have to hold public meetings on clemency cases like Skinner's. It's not required to give any reasons for its recommendations. Most times, the seven members simply fax in their votes. Without a majority vote, clemency is denied. What’s more, there are no guidelines in statute or in the board’s rules that outline a basis for decision-making. And nearly all the documents the board uses to make its decisions are kept secret under state law — even after an inmate is executed. “To the extent we assume that the clemency review process is a meaningful safeguard for cases like Hank’s, where there might be doubt about guilt … our trust is misplaced,” says Owen, co-director of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law's Capital Punishment Clinic. Criminal justice advocates and some lawmakers have called for reform of the Texas clemency process for years, calling the current system opaque and arbitrary. Especially in the wake of high-profile cases like that of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 despite serious concern about his guilt in an arson that killed his daughters; and of Tim Cole, who was exonerated of a rape conviction after he died of an asthma attack in prison