To Catch And Release A Predator

The Collin County DA has chosen not to prosecute the Dateline NBC/Perverted Justice internet sex predator cases.

The DA claims to lack jurisdiction in some cases, and to lack evidence and cooperation from Perverted Justice in others. Perverted Justice is angry and states that “We’ve gone from questioning the competency of the Collin County prosecutor’s office to questioning their sanity.”

It is never politically popular to not charge pedophiles. It leads me to wonder if any other factors were at play? Bad blood between the CCDA and PJ? Or the CCDA and the Murphy PD? Residents of Murphy were upset with the entire production taking place in their neighborhood. Other residents are upset the cases are not being filed.

It is unfortunate that we may never know why these cases were not charged. Open records requests are limited in these situations.

Personally, I find it strange that Collin County would reject these cases, especially for “insufficient evidence.” Criminal Defense lawyers know that it is impossible to get a DWI dismissed in McKinney no matter how “insufficient” the evidence is.

There is a larger issue; how private market forces affect law enforcement.

PJ critics accuse them of not making complete transcripts public and hiding evidence of innocence (brady material), violating child pornography laws, and entrapment. Critics say NBC violates their own ethics rules and ignores complaints against PJ in the quest for ad revenue and higher ratings.

Law Enforcement and profit motives do not make the best combination. Asset forfeiture, private prison lobbying, and red light cameras show how justice can always be warped by a profit motive.

I love profit and I love free markets. I am a defense lawyer who makes money in the criminal justice industry. What is the difference?

I do not have the power of government. The government can arrest, incarcerate, seize, forfeit, and harrass in a way no private citizen can. The government has awesome power. Power that should be wielded without concern for TV ratings.

Who feels sorry for child sex predators? Nobody. Serious crimes require serious prosecutions with trained officers, not Stone Phillips.

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8 responses to “To Catch And Release A Predator”

  1. <img src="http://www.blogge says:

    Maybe the Collin DA should sell swastikas with an asterik mark.

  2. <img src="http://www.blogger.c says:

    Just wanted to clarify a couple of things. The neighbors who were upset were upset because of the methods employed and didn’t want this sort of reality television filming happening in ANYONE’s neighborhood. And no matter what side anyone was on regarding the methods used, everyone you ask in Murphy wants convictions of these perverts.

  3. <img src="http://www.blogge says:

    This shit is entrapment anyway. NO ONE who gets “caught” on the show should be prosecuted. The girl they use to lure them over to the house is over-18 anyway, so NO CRIME has been committed. Unless of course you want to start prosecuting for thought-crimes. Which I guess in the AGE OF FEAR is just alllll riiiight.Now I’m not saying “Pedophiles – HOOAH”, but by all means, this is not the correct way. The show is illegal, immoral, and unjust.

  4. <img src="http://www.blogger.c says:

    The Murphy residents that are continuously carrying on about this happening in their city are an embarrassment to their city. The ongoings are ridiculous, infantile, and embarrassing for the PROUD State of Texas.For the City Manager to feel he needed to resign is totally revolting and sickening. At least he has the genitals to pursue such an attempt. The DA is to blame, not the Murphy Police or the City Manager, the DA seems to have more ways out of prosecuting…PROSECUTE!!!Where is the support from the Mayor, City Council, and the Citizens? The pride of this city seems to be with their property values, their crime statistics, and their personal retaliation for such a thing taking place in their little town of denial. These things happen to the best of communities and at least, before all the uproar, the City of Murphy had the mind provoking thought of “Do NOT mess with Murphy, TX”. That is something to be proud of!!! Now I believe the open invitation for the criminals has been received, come visit Murphy and Collin County…they will not be able to do anything!The only embarrassment outsiders are seeing is the embarrassing actions of these few citizens, Council’s reaction, and the DA.

  5. <img src="http://www.blogger.c says:

    What type of financial responsibility does PJ take for the prosecution of these perverts? I live in Kaufman County, if our DA was tasked to prosecute these sickos and the cost was coming from the County I would be pissed. The people who went to this house had intent, but to lay it at the feet of that Counties DA is not fair to that County.

  6. <img src="http://www.blogge says:

    I’m all for lex talionis. Let’s take all these fellas who wanted to have sex with underage children, and…say…. cut their dicks off. That’s a bit more liberal a punishment than say, 100 years ago, but why not give a little dispensation for modernism?I think sexual crimes in that county would fall to about 0% right quick.Extreme? Depends on how liberal you are. A true liberal is one who wants the criminal to pay with their life if they attack their daughter, but wants the criminal to run “born free” if it’s your daughter. Another solution would be to kill all liberals. You’d only have to kill one before these hypocrites would abandon their “value system” as fast as they change their positions on issues in a given day to match the political landscape. Fuck liberalism, fuck the commie assault on America, fuck their right to use our rights and values against us to deprive us of those same rights and values. KILL THEM, or least make thm understand that we mean fucking business and won’t mind splashing their brains across the wall to keep freedom ringing. If that’s the way it’s got to be to avoid the Stalinist/Maoist progression, that’s the FUCKING way it’s going to be.Have a nice day.

  7. <img src="http://www.blogger.c says:

    Sounds like sonnyc44 has been hitting the crack pipe a little to often. BTW, Jesus was a liberal.

  8. <img src="http://www.blogger.c says:

    It makes no sense for Perverted Justice to do all that work, and then refuse to turn over evidence to the prosecutor. The prosecutor is playing a polics game. I hope this comes back and bites him in the ass. The former Kaufman A.D.A. knew he was guilty and saved the tax payers a lot of money. Too bad the others are out and able to molest again.

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