Capital murder defendant is found incompetent and sent to Vernon's. He stays only a short time, and returns with a report that uses the word "malingering" quite often. As short as his visit north was, it was long enough for him to get one of the nurses pregnant. Yes, a registered nurse, an educated professional, had consensual sex with a questionably competent capital murder defendant. (Did I mention that he's also a registered sex offender? Just a big ol' hunka burnin' luv, finding his soulmate at the state hospital. I see a Lifetime movie in the making, and I want Holly Hunter to play me.)

So my question: did a crime occur? I'm looking at PC 22.011(b)(11). If I'm reading that language correctly, a resident of a facility that provides mental health services and is operated my MHMR cannot consent to sexual contact with an employee of the facility, unless they are married. Which they were not. Yet. (They applied for a marriage license last week, which is what has me thinking about this again, along with puzzling over how you get a marriage license from jail, and once again, what is this chick thinking????)

Has anyone ever used this section to prosecute a similar situation? If not, will someone please lie and tell me that this stuff happens in other counties also?

While I don't even know what county Veron is in, I'd like to apologize in advance to the prosecutor who is going to end up with this can of worms. But the more I think about it, the more offended I get. Idiots.

while he doesn't aspire to be van morrison or brian ferry, he has tried one of these cases in fort bend. the defendant's name was patrick allen jones. he was a male nurse who had sex with a woman he met while he worked in (and while she was a patient in) a psychiatric hospital. the thing that i thought made the case difficult was (though in reality it probably just made it average), he exploited a relationship he developed with her while she was in the hospital, but they didn't have sex in the hospital. she didn't give him love, love, love, love, crazy love until after she was released and they went on a date.

there were two unpublished opinions regarding the some of the substance of the case case: 1) 2000 WL 19419 (Tex. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 2000, pet. granted), and 2) 2004 WL 438676 (Tex. App.--Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, pet. ref'd.)

there was also a published opinion granting him an out-of-time appeal that doesn't get too much into the substance: Jones v. State, 98 S.W.3d 700 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003).

i'd be happy to send you copies of the briefs, too, if you're having trouble sleeping.

[This message was edited by David Newell on 09-04-07 at .]

Some women love to be involved with inmates. Being in love with an inmate likely to be incarcerated for life means never having to tell your mate that "you need some space".

To paraphrase a quote from the movie Love Story, I guess being in love with a lifetime convict means never having to say you're sorry, because there is one inch of glass and/or steel between you at all times.

Unless you happen to work behind the glass and steel. As is the case many times over - like the love connection between convicted murderer Perez over at the Walls Unit and his girlfriend, the clerk. Finally caught in June of this year, after passionate interludes and romantic getaways in the broom closet. But it's a very nice broom closet.

I guess that gives a whole new meaning to being in the closet.

not for r. kelly.

So A.P. that's obviously clean sex, but is it safe? And was there a banjo providing mood music?

I knew the banjo would make it into the thread. Like I said, the truly American instrument, fits every subject bandied around on the forums of the universe. Somehow, bringing a bassoon into the closet story, or talking about grabbling for catfish and playing the piccolo just don't have the same edge.

And, the new username sort of sounds like the other JB (the "Perfect Plea" author, not the J&B found over at Spec's) has a satellite personality over in E. Texas. He might want some royalties.

The other J.B. long ago declared that banjo threads on this forum are "no longer funny".

Nonetheless, others such as myself are constantly amused with the inclusion of banjo references on this forum. AP is right about the banjo though, one could hardly imagine the soundtrack to a touching prison romance story being performed by any instrument other than a banjo, except for maybe a banjo and a dulcimer together.

The State rests...

When I typed my initial question, the background music I heard playing in my head wasn't bassoon music. I'm just sayin'...

1,000 words not needed!