Marsha, Marsha, Marsha, You’re Suing the Wrong Person

The Houston Chronicle has this story

Marsha Richard, widow of executed Rapist and Murderer Michael Richard is suing Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller in federal court for not giving special treatment to the convicted rapist and murderer’s attorneys. Keller ordered the clerk’s office close at promptly at five o’clock, you know, what most people recognize as the end of the business day. Her lawsuit claims that because her (murdering, raping) husband’s attorneys were not able to file an appeal to the Texas court, which would have had to have been ruled on before their planned appeal to the US Supreme Court, caused her husband to be unjustly executed. Here’s the thing: Richard wasn’t claiming innocence in that appeal, what his attorneys were trying to do was latch on to a case out of Kentucky, that was before the USSC, that claimed lethal injection constituted cruel and unusual punishment. It isn’t the Judge’s job to make sure attorneys do their work in a timely manner. Yes, the attorney had asked for more time due to computer problems, but, you know what? It isn’t the Judge’s job to ensure the convicted murdering rapist’s attorney’s computers worked properly either.
If Mrs Richard wants to sue someone, perhaps she should sue the attorneys who failed to file the appeal in a timely manner, and who overlooked judges that were available after business hours:

Three other judges later said they were available that evening and could have handled Richard’s appeal if they had known about it.

Here is a lovely quote from the grieving widow:
“He was on death row, so chances are he was going to be executed. But to have your appeal denied for no rhyme or reason? That’s wrong,” Marsha Richard, 43, said during a news conference outside the Houston federal courthouse Wednesday. The home health aide married Michael Richard in 2002. “No matter what side of the death penalty you fall on, we’re still dealing with human beings. Their lives are in the balance.”
Come on now, Marsha, the appeal wasn’t filed in time, that is neither the fault, nor the responsibility of anyone other than the lawyers who were trying to keep your husband alive, despite his crimes. Mrs Richard is quoted by the AP
as saying: I would ask her why she just couldn’t wait a few more minutes. It wouldn’t have cost her anything to do this
I don’t know Marsha, perhaps the Judge thought, as I do, that the rules should apply to everyone equally and that convicted murderers shouldn’t get special treatment. Or, maybe, she [the judge] thought that after over twenty years the victim’s family finally saw Richard pay for his crimes. Either way, justice was done.

Category: Legal, Society