Archive for March 28th, 2019

Random notes: March 28, 2019.

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

Chron Eye For The Killer Guy:

Raised by a single mother who avoided taking care of him, [Patrick] Murphy was beaten and abused as a child, according to court records. His grandmother taught him to shoplift at a young age, and by 17 he’d run away and moved into a homeless shelter.

What did Mr. Murphy do? He’s one of the Texas 7, who broke out of prison in December of 2000, went on the run, and killed Irving Police Officer Aubrey Hawkins while stealing guns from an Oshman’s.

When it was over, Hawkins lay dead in the parking lot, shot 11 times and run over by an SUV as the men fled.

Part of the argument is that Mr. Murphy didn’t actually pull a trigger: he was just a lookout, and it was five other guys who shot Officer Hawkins. But he was still convicted and sentenced to death based on…yes, the law of parties. (Still want to do that podcast some day.)

Even though Murphy went along the day of the killing, his lawyers say he didn’t want to take part in the crime, pointing out that he left as soon as he told the others of the officer’s arrival. Now, they say, executing him would be cruel and unusual punishment.

Pull the other one, guys: it has bells.

(The execution is currently delayed while the Supreme Court evaluates Mr. Murphy’s claim that he’s entitled to a Buddhist spiritual advisor in the death chamber.)

On a much happier note: up yours, Andrew Cuomo. Up yours, Bill de Blasio.

A federal judge ruled today that New York’s notoriously nonsensical law criminalizing “gravity knives”—which groups have said for years is used by New York City to selectively prosecute people, especially the working class and minorities, for carrying common folding knives—is unconstitutionally vague.

Posted in Cops, IANAL, Knives, Law | Comments Closed

This is intended to enrage you. (#9 in a series)

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

The decision of the University of Texas to suspend the Texas Cowboys spirit group for six years because of hazing is disappointing and might prevent the group from continuing its community service and charitable donations, the group’s alumni association said Thursday.

I’m sure Nicholas Cumberland’s family is disappointed, too. Disappointed that they won’t see him again in this life.

The Cowboys are best known for firing Smokey the Cannon when UT scores at home football games. In addition, “our members have volunteered tens of thousands of community service hours, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity and contributed to campus learning through activities such as hosting a lectureship series featuring world leaders on campus,” the alumni association said.

…

Nicholas Cumberland, who was majoring in business, finance and radio-television-film, was traveling in a pickup with other members of the Cowboys when it rolled over in Lampasas County after the September retreat, which occurred at a private ranch in Brown County. He was ejected from the vehicle and died four weeks later.

…

UT’s dean of students office on Wednesday told the Cowboys that it was suspending the group after its investigation found that a host of violations took place at a retreat in September, including coerced consumption of alcohol, cat food, Spam, milk and Tabasco sauce, as well as so-called Oklahoma drills, in which two people run directly at each other in a confined space. A UT Police Department spokeswoman said Thursday that its criminal investigation, separate from the student conduct investigation, is ongoing.

…

“As an organization, we are disappointed by the misconduct of certain student members,” the alumni association said in a statement provided to the American-Statesman by Eddie Lopez, the association’s president. “In fact, we have expelled and suspended from our organization the students who were connected to the hazing. Their actions violated University regulations and did not align with our organization’s standards — and they do not represent the heart and soul of our organization.

“However, hazing did not cause the car accident that took Nicky Cumberland’s life,” the statement added, noting that the university’s report determined that sleep deprivation did not occur at the retreat.

Oh, what a relief. The hazing didn’t kill him, and they dumped all the hazers anyway.

Formed in 1922, the Cowboys have been subjected to harsh penalties previously as a result of hazing. In 1995, [Gabe] Higgins, 19, drowned in the Colorado River after what school officials said were hours of alcohol-fueled hazing. In response, UT disbanded the Cowboys for five years.

Enough said.

Posted in Rage | Comments Closed

From the legal beat.

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

A mistrial was declared yesterday in the murder case against Charles Reedy.

Mr. Reedy was accused of stabbing his roommate to death. However…

…Travis County prosecutors discovered several hundred new photos that Austin police detectives had taken as evidence. Their discovery prompted state District Judge Brad Urrutia to order a mistrial after Reedy’s lawyers said the new batch of photos might have impaired the case they had planned to present to the jury.

I believe that is what lawyers call a “Brady violation”, also known as “bad move, space cadet”. But that’s not why this story is interesting.

You see, Mr. Reedy has been convicted of murder before:

In 2001, a jury found him guilty of killing John Teller in a wooded area near St. Edward’s University and Interstate 35. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
But in 2006, the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin overturned the conviction. Chief Justice W. Kenneth Law wrote an opinion saying, “The jury’s verdict is unsupported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Kind of makes you go “Hmmmmmmmm”, doesn’t it?

Posted in Law, TCDA | Comments Closed