A Jury Fond of Probation: A Brownsville, Texas, jury in December found Traci Rhode guilty of shooting her husband to death in his sleep, b
ut rejected the prosecutor's recommended sentence of 60 years, opting instead for 10 years' probation and a $10,000 fine. (She did serve two days in jail after the guilty verdict was announced, but before sentencing, but Rhode's lawyer was outraged even at that: "Can you imagine the shock," he told the jury, "of being locked up for two days in a 4-by-8 cell with cement walls, in isolation?") Texas subsequently passed a law banning probation as the punishment for murder. [Brownsville Herald, 12-6-07]
ut rejected the prosecutor's recommended sentence of 60 years, opting instead for 10 years' probation and a $10,000 fine. (She did serve two days in jail after the guilty verdict was announced, but before sentencing, but Rhode's lawyer was outraged even at that: "Can you imagine the shock," he told the jury, "of being locked up for two days in a 4-by-8 cell with cement walls, in isolation?") Texas subsequently passed a law banning probation as the punishment for murder. [Brownsville Herald, 12-6-07] I'm surprised that they didn't just impose a "Husband Hunting Season" so husbands could be on their guard. And impose a 'no shooting him at the table where you have attracted him with food for years', stipulation!
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