Looks like Grits needs a prosecutor. He seems to be the victim of some parolee.

Read story (link fixed by administrator).

[This message was edited by Shannon Edmonds on 05-02-08 at .]

to make some theme-song suggestions for Grit's site. Hopefully, these will provide some consolation.

Money-Pink Floyd

Money (That's what I want)- John Lennon "Live-Peace Toronto 1969" version

I got just enough money (for a case of the blues)- Pat Travers

I'm sure there is more fodder but I'll leave that to my friends.

Seriously, I'm very sorry that Grits, a/k/a Scott Henson, was victimized. I'm glad it was not violent crimes he was subjected to and that he and his family were not injured. I hope the justice system works for him.

(* - "Cut me some slack, Jack! Chump don' wan' no help, chump don' GET da' help!")

I know Scott, and I like Scott, but when he makes unsubstantiated accusations like this, it makes it very, very hard for me to feel the love:

"I notice most of these criticisms came soon after the DA Association linked to this post on their user forum, so it's a decent bet most of you anonymous cowards are prosecutors, which makes the comments about karma, reap what you sow, etc. even more disgraceful: You're right. Clearly crime victims are targeted because they deserve it. Thanks for pointing that out."

It's fascinating to me how those who are sometimes the most strident opponents of alleged injustices, stereotyping, and prejudice, are also quick to succumb to the same sins. For the record, I also think anyone who anonymously posts inflammatory personal comments on a blog or website is chickensh*t (and such impolite, disrespectful conduct is not permitted on this forum), but unless he can prove who posted what, he's only compounding the jackassery by his speculative comments.

He's clearly had a bad, bad run of luck, but lashing out at people he doesn't know would seem to be counterproductive.

(note that comments to his post have been locked, which is why I posted this here instead of on his blog.)

[This message was edited by Shannon Edmonds on 05-02-08 at .]

Like you, Shannon, I like Scott and often enjoy his take on criminal justice issues, even when we bear the brunt of his criticism.

And as for his recent run of bad luck, I feel for the guy and truly hope that the system acts fairly and efficiently and he receives justice.

But his rant about how we prosecutors must be the "anonymous cowards" negatively commenting about his fundraising efforts is a different story. And it kind of got me to thinking....

This week, as you probably all know, our state lost another of our DPS Troopers in a senseless, horrible act of violence. This one hits even closer to home than usual because this particular Trooper, James Scott Burns, was also a member of our extended TDCAA family.

His wife, Michaela is an administrative assistant for Cass County District Attorney Clint Allen. I am working on a case with Clint right now, and just last week I was admiring the photos all around her desk of her lovely family.

So when you're pondering crime victims, and donations to help them in their time of need, you may want to consider the Burns family, particularly Trooper Burns' 5 month old daughter, from whom he was so wrongly taken.

Donations may be made at First National Bank of Linden or at its two branches in Longview � Texana Bank at Marshall Avenue and Seventh Street or 3814 Gilmer Road. Donations also may be mailed to the bank: Scott Burns Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 546, Linden TX 75563.

Good post, Lisa. Rest in Peace, Trooper Burns. Thank you for protecting our State.

I am often reminded of my 8th grade science teacher, a very nice man named Jennings, who used to catagorize students into two classes: Do'ers and talkers. I've always tried to be a do'er and not a talker, and I've noticed that most of my collegues here are do'ers as well.

Our critics? Mostly talkers, who are critical of our every decision and dissect them with a sharp, sharp knife and tongue but rarely if ever offer any reasonable solution to the problems they babble about.

I guess Mr. Jennings was right: it is much easier to be a fault picker, rather than a problem solver.

Very well said, Mr. Gilleland.

When a criminal takes your property, your loss is much more than the dollar value of what was stolen. You feel violated, and there is a weakening of the trust that binds us all together. Crime has a way of narrowing our options, as well as making us suspicious of the motives of others.

For example, after Scott's experience, he has to ask himself, when he goes to buy a new car stereo, "Should I get what I really want, or should I get something cheap, because some jerk may try to steal it?" Such a consideration is forced on us by the actions of criminals.

If the experience of my victims in my caseload is any indication, the ID theft will be Scott's biggest headache. Some have had to jack with nit wits at banks, and credit card companies for months, and even had to pay big bucks, to get their credit back.

My advice to Scott is to call the NY detective who has that case, and let him know how serious he takes the case, and that he is very willing to go to NY to testify against the crook. I would then follow that up with a letter to the detective, restating the same thing. If the crook is found, I would repeat this process with the prosecutor who gets the case. If you show an interest in your case, they are more inclined to give your case extra attention. Their big worry is that since the victim lives so far away, that even if they catch the guy, the victim may not show for court.

Unfortunately for Scott, there is a strong movement in this country (including right here in the Great State!) to trivialize "non-violent crime," in an effort to reduce the dreaded "incarceration rate." NY has even declared victory in the War on Crime, and has started to close prisons. No matter what he does, there may not be much interest in a crime that has fallen out of favor with the chattering classes.