Criminal Justice
Houston Congresswoman Calls for Hearings on Local Justice System
Posted Jul 7, 2008, 05:57 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A congresswoman from Houston is calling for hearings into the local justice system after a grand jury’s decision not to indict a 62-year-old retiree who shot and killed two illegal immigrants who were apparently breaking into a neighbor’s home.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee said at a news conference that congressional hearings will be held in Houston to assess how Harris County prosecutors submitted evidence to the grand jury in the case against the retiree, Joe Horn, the Houston Chronicle reports. The Democratic congresswoman also wants lawmakers to probe whether derogatory e-mails circulated in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office have influenced the way inmates were treated.
Jackson Lee said she is also concerned about errors in the handling of DNA evidence in the Houston crime lab and inmate deaths at the Harris County Jail, the story says. The Justice Department began investigating the jail in March following the deaths of three inmates.
''With the many misgivings surrounding the Harris County judicial system, it is fair to say that this local judicial system has been tarnished," she said. "It is time for all officials to be held accountable and true justice and democracy restored."
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