And now, deep thoughts, by the Texas Legislature

So I'm not saying that everyone has to be totally on their game at all times, but I would like to see moderately intelligent comments coming from our legislature on occasion. Alas, today will not be the day that my dreams come true.

For those of you who don't know, there has been a problem with Texas inmates getting their hands on cell phones. At least one of them, a death-row inmate, used one to call Senator Whitmire, a state senator from the Houston area, and make not-really-all-that-veiled threats. Whitmire of course was furious, and acted promptly to keep this kind of thing from happening. Thus, committees were formed, meetings were held, and people were yelled at. I don't blame him for wanting something done, I would too if someone threatened my family.

Not surprisingly though, what eneded up happening was that the phones kept making their way to the inmates, but they were getting found with more frequency. Why they keep getting in is a whole other story for a different blog (which boils down to what my dad always says...if there's a demand for somehting, it doesn't matter how much you do to cut off the supply, someone will find a way of supplying it).

So anyway, there was a "hearing" yesterday in front of...well, I don't know who, because our shoddy reporters didn't provide us with that information...presumably the "criminal justice legislative oversight committee." Whatever. (horrible reporting is another story for yet another blog) At this "hearing," there was concern expressed over the lack of punishment for the death-row offenders found to have cell phones. The article states:

Committee members were disturbed to learn that there have been no arrests in connection with the 2,800 death row calls. The 10 inmates have not been referred for prosecution. Whitmire said he was miffed to hear that authorities took into account an offender's sentence when determining whether to charge an inmate, so someone facing a death sentence, with no possibility of parole, might be spared a relatively minor contraband charge.
Gina DeBottis, who heads the prison system's special prosecution unit, said withholding privileges can be far more effective than tacking on additional time to an inmate facing death or life in prison.

Ok, let's take a look at what we have here. Ten guys on death row were found with cell phones. Their current sentence is...well...you guessed it, death. This means, their sentence will be carried out when the are...wait for it...executed. So, first, and foremost, the only way that these convictions would do any good is if their death sentences are reversed or commuted, and they could then be forced to serve time for the illegal possession charge. This is Texas, and that's not likely. We don't commute sentences here, and the reversal rate is...well, some small number. Thus, trying them in a criminal court for having cell phones is just going to cost the taxpayers money, and allow them the possibility of them getting to go to a criminal trial...in a criminal courthouse...outside of the maximum security prison they were housed in when they got the first cell phones. Yeah, let's take them to county lockup,where they will have far more access to the outside world than they do now. That's a brilliant idea.

Second, is "tacking on additional time to an inmate facing death" really any kind of punishment at all? Did they actually think this was an option? Are they planning on asking to judge to order the sentences to run consecutively?

Ahhh...the brilliance of our elected officials. Gotta love 'em.