VOICE OF JUSTICE
March
1995 Official
Publication of JUSTICE FOR ALL Volume
3 Issue 3
"Justice will only be achieved when those who
are not injured by crime, feel as indignant as those who are."
-King Solomon 635-577 BC
PANEL TO REVIEW FAMILY VIOLENCE LAWS IN TEXAS
A special state Senate committee has been named to investigate possible
changes in the way Texas addresses family violence. "You don't have
to look to California -- you don't have to leave Texas --to see painful
reasons to reassess the protection we afford abused spouses and children
in our own state," Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock said recently to the Associated
Press, in obvious reference to the ongoing O.J. Simpson trial. Sen. Mike
Moncrief, D-Fort Worth, will be the chairperson of the interim committee,
which will examine the state's criminal and civil laws. Along with Sens.
Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, Buster Brown, R-Lake
Jackson, and Royce West, D-Dallas, Moncrief will address possible loopholes
in the laws concerning domestic violence.
What Questions to Ask TDCJ Victim Services
Concerning Status of Inmates Who are Parole Eligible
Bachelor Degree Questions
A. 1. Have TDC # ready.
2. Check if currently in parole review.
3. Ask which board members are reviewing case.
4. Check if any votes are in.
5. If no votes are in yet, when will a decision
be made?
Master's Degree Questions
B. 1. How many parole reviews has he or she had?
2. Has there ever been any positive votes
and if so, by whom?
3. Check and see if the inmate has ever had
a prior TDC number.
Doctoral Degree Questions
C. 1. How much good-time credit has the inmate built up?
2. Is the inmate eligible for mandatory supervision?
3. Get accurate sentencing dates, actual time
served and vital statistics.
Conclusion
A inmate may come up for parole review every year according to the TDCJ.
Inmates may also be granted a two or three year set-off upon denial of parole;
I would strongly advise you to request this in your protest letters, unless
you enjoy going through this process yearly.
worth repeating
"Money talks and justice walks.
" Bonnie Blanney, President of SOCAN, Save Our Children from Abuse
and Neglect
worth reading
April issue of Mademoiselle Magazine " An article featuring
JFA Board Member, Kim Conner, and her efforts to make a difference.
"Texas Crime Victim Handbook" by Ken Anderson. This helpful
handbook can be obtained through the Georgetown Press, P.O. Box 1934, Georgetown,
TX 78627 for $25.00 plus shipping & handling.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, March 7 Justice For All bus trip
to Austin will begin at 6:00 AM for the purpose of attending criminal justice
hearings that day and to lobby our legislators. Please call our office 935-9300
to confirm your attendance and directions to the departure location.
Monday, April 17 Jury selection begins of
the trial of Rex Mayes in the double murder of KYNARA CARREIRO and KRISTIN
WILEY. The trial will be in the 176th Harris County Criminal District Court
with Judge Raines presiding.
Monday, April 24 The jury selection will begin
in the trial of Robert Koscheski for the murder of STEPHEN L. MILLSAP. The
trial will be held in the Harris County 177th Criminal District Court with
the Honorable Micon Love presiding.
Monday, April 24 The jury selection will begin
in the trial of Devina Henderson for the murder of MICHAEL GEORGE. The trial
will be held in the Harris County 338th Criminal District Court.on 301 San
Jacinto at 9:00AM with the Honorable Mary Bacon presiding.
Sunday through Saturday, April 23 - 29 Crime
Victim,s Rights week
UPDATES Results
of JFA drive on Post Oak and Westhiemer " We were successful in
handing out over 2,000 pamphlets and received several new members. Please
become involved in these events they are a lot of fun and very helpful in
educating the public. Raymond and Terri Medina
" The jury, in their infinite wisdom, found Rubio guilty of manslaughter
and received 20 years for the death of FRANK MEDINA. Frank worked at a McDonalds
and as he when to dump cooking grease, Rubio was waiting for him. Rubio
and several accomplices struck Frank in the back of the head several times
with a baseball bat. Reason? Frank was accused of seeing Rubio's girlfriend.
It took 12 days for Frank to die.
DPS DATA COMPILED BY THE AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN
ON SPOUSAL VIOLENCE IN TEXAS' 15 MOST POPULOUS CITIES
The DPS compiles annual reports on the number of family violence incidents
handled by each police department. The analysis below includes only incidents
that involved spouses, common-law spouses, or ex-spouses. Reports were not
separated by gender.
|
Incidents
in 1993
|
Percent change
from 1991
|
Incidents per
100,000 pop.
|
Dallas
|
23,072
|
N/A *
|
2,256.4
|
Irving
|
1,903
|
+12.2
|
1,180.1
|
Amarillo
|
1,877
|
+99.3
|
1,165.4
|
Fort Worth
|
4,714
|
+62.1
|
1,037.3
|
Garland
|
1,726
|
+32.2
|
902.8
|
Lubbock
|
1,594
|
+17.0
|
848.1
|
Arlington
|
2,183
|
+29.4
|
791.2
|
El Paso
|
4,022
|
+30.2
|
739.6
|
Corpus Christi
|
1,719
|
+223.1
|
645.2
|
Pasadena
|
794
|
-6.5
|
633.1
|
Houston
|
9,872
|
+36.0
|
584.1
|
Austin
|
2,694
|
+61.1
|
547.2
|
Laredo
|
700
|
+30.3
|
512.8
|
Plano
|
523
|
+85.5
|
368.4
|
San Antonio
|
3,436
|
-8.7
|
355.5
|
*The DPS does not have family violence statistics for the Dallas Police
Department for 1991
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