The People of Harris County, Texas, are presumably good Texans - steeped in the conservative values that the State is so proud of: Individuality, Honoring Slave-Keeping Land Pirates, Defense of Business to Blow Up Towns with Impunity - you know all those things that Texans are famous for in our modern times.
They have added a new honor to their constellation of self-made ribbons for which Texans should be justifiably proud: They incarcerate rape victims for the flaw of suffering mental illness! I tell you, Saudi Arabia is very proud to see one of the so-called Liberal Democracies start down the proper path of punishing those disobliging persons who dare to report sexual assaults.
A young woman, named Jenny in court proceedings, broke down on the stand in her attempt to testify against her rapist at trial. The People of Harris County, in the form of their District Attorney, and the presiding judge, chose to react with the compassion that any Texan can be proud to see in the halls of justiice: They immediately remanded Jenny to the County Jail, because in her own words she had become a flight risk as a witness. And they kept her there for almost a full month. During this time she was kept in a county holding facility - a category of facility notorious throughout the union for the lax supervision, care and safety compared to State and Federal prisons. But I'm sure that the DA and judge made certain that Jenny was getting care for her mental illness. They wouldn't just throw someone in the fit of a depressive breakdown into prison without any care or therapy, would they?
Oh, of course they did.
Therapy and care are for the State prisons, after all.
All this because a prosecutor was justifiably concerned that the only thing that matters in the criminal justice system: The prosecutor's own batting average, might be at risk.
I was going to offer a badge here for the residents of Harris County to proudly wear to show their support for the actions of their elected officials. Instead, I think I'll wait til the people of Harris County have shown whether they agree with the DA's office that this was a completely justified use of legal powers to incarcerate a rape victim when she had a mental health attack.
I honestly expect the incumbent to be re-elected, but let's face it sometimes they do get voted out. So, Harris County - here's your chance to prove to this damned Yankee asshole that you're not the bass-ackwards redneck women-hating justice as a score-card jackasses I think of when I think of Texans.
Choose your pride!
Oh - links. I forgot links:
http://www.click2houston.com/news/rape-victim-put-in-jail-after-breakdown-on-witness-stand
http://www.click2houston.com/news/investigates/attorney-says-district-attorney-lied-in-video-statement
P.S. given how easy it will be prove or disprove the woman's attorney's statement about her housing status, I can't imagine that he would be lying about that.
