regardless of the legalities, the moral, ethical and human disgrace that is Judge Keller doesn't deserve her position ... this is the judicial arrogance at its height, the sign of a tyrant, the antithesis of "judicial temperament" ... I've been a practicing lawyer for nearly 30 years and her conduct here is beyond shameful.

This is the type of viciousness that Rudy Giuiliani was known for when he was D.A. in New York.

.
Ah, the law and human beings!

There is the law and there is the law's spirit and letter.
Which is more important? Which should predominate: its letter or its spirit?

If in applying the letter of the law, its spirit is transgressed, is there an observance of that law?

What if one law's spirit dictates that another law's letter be relaxed in its implementation? Or even, what if two (or more) laws contradict each other? Ah, but they can only do so by their letters, not their spirit!

Then look for where justice inclines. For there you will find that the spirit of the laws is one: we call it, mercy.

The decisive question then is: Where is mercy?

Otherwise, the application of laws becomes merely punitive, vengeful, and in the end self-defeating. Indeed, it leads to inhumanity. That's when the tools become the master of the tool-makers. When the system becomes dehumanized.

This is so clear in the American Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution. And aren't these our fundamental laws?
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Mr Cohen, while I certainly understand & agree with your assessment of Judge Keller's actions, does not the Gov of Texas also bear some responsibility for failing to stay Richards's execution? Could not the defense have appealed the Governor for a stay - who should have granted a stay for the same reason Judge Keller should have?

Not sure whether the governor could have stopped it, but I don't think that's relevant to the point, which is Judge Keller's conduct. Knowing that an application for stay was coming based on developments in the U.S. Supreme Court that day, and knowing that a state court order was needed for Richards's lawyers to get to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay it certainly would have granted, Killer Keller closed the courthouse doors with the intent that Texas carry out an execution that otherwise would have been stayed. It's unfortunate that a judicial officer would behave in this way.

Perhaps she was suffering from PMS that day. Sounds sexist, but I find her behavior neither rational nor reasonable. With (good) luck, maybe the courthouse doors will closed at precisely 5 p.m. (to Keller) and Keller will subsequently be executed. Now that's real Texas justice.

I too am outraged, what had Michael Richard done to deserve this. I looked it up and it was thsi:

Marguerite Lucille Dixon was the mother of 7 grown children and a registered nurse living in Hockley, Texas when Michael Richard was paroled from prison. On August 18, 1986, Richard approached Marguerite's son outside her home and asked if a van that was parked in the driveway was for sale. When the son told Richard that the van was not for sale, Richard left but watched the home until he saw Marguerite's son and daughter leave a short time later. Richard returned to Marguerite's house and forced his way in. He forced Marguerite into a bedroom where he sexually assaulted her before shooting her in the head with a 25-caliber pistol. After the rape and murder, Richard stole two televisions and the van. He later traded the murder weapon for cocaine. His fingerprint was found on a sliding glass door in Marguerite's home. Richard later confessed to the murder but claimed the gun discharged accidentally. Prior to murder, Richards had served just over half of a six year sentence for burglary and was returned to prison less than four years later with a five-year sentence for auto-theft, theft and forgery. He served less than 18 months before being released on mandatory release on June 23, 1986, just two months before murdering Marguerite Dixon.

I think this rush to judgement which took around 21 years i stragic.

what the defendant did and what Judge Keller did are two separate issues... if it was your relative on death row, and they were, in fact, innocent, they would have gotten the same response from this judicial piece of crap for all we know. I don't think anyone is criticizing her because they think the defendant was not guilty, she is being judged on the standards of acceptable judicial (or shall I say, human) conduct; the evidence here may well be that there are 2 despicable people involved in this case, one of whom wears judicial robes.

If the writer is correct, why haven't the executed man's lawyers filed a complaint with the appropriate Texas commission overseeing judicial conduct?

Or in "cowboytown," is that tantamount to legal suicide?

There was no argument as to Richard's guilt; he'd confessed. The appeal would not have been over whether to execute Richard, but rather how to do so. No matter what the result on his appeal would have been, he was not going to escape execution.

A complaint has been filed with the Judicial Conduct commission in Texas. the proceedings of the Commission is confidential until if, and when, any actions are deemed to be made public, such as issuing a public admonishment and the like.

In regards to other comments, the Governor of Texas does not have the authority to stay executions, that power rests with the Board of Pardons and Parole I have not read anywhere that they had been contacted or made aware of the situation.

What this article did not point out is the fact that another Judge, Cheryl Johnson, was the "watch" Judge for this particular execution. The Judges take turns staying at the court whenever there is a scheduled execution, to handle the expected last minute appeals. Apparently, she was never notified about Judge Keller's conversations with the defense attorneys and was not aware that there was an attempt to file a last minute appeal.

The Court of Criminal Appeals now, finally, accepts e-filings of emergency stays of executions.

It is immaterial that Richard's actions were heinous. He deserved to be executed, however, we are a nation of laws, and it is reprehensible that he was denied his constitutional due process because of a whim of the Judge. If the good guys (I count myself as one, as I am an ex-judge and now a prosecutor) behave without regard for the law and Constitution, we are no better than the bad guys.

I am Randall Kallinen attorney for the wife of the deceased. The judge does not have immunity in this case because she was acting ultra vires or in an administrative capacity. I have sued judges before and won. I will be glad to send you a copy of the lawsuit with the legal reasoning therein. Thank you.

Thank you so much WaPo for reporting this story. I signed the petition against Keller's behavior.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is, by account of legislators and multiple independent reporting, rife with abuse, corruption and scandel from top to bottom. The Texas Youth Commission falls squarely in this line-up as Texas children are molested, beaten and abused in our "system." Further, recent figures show our Penal State has a 300% exploding prison population which, as logic itself will dictate, is astronimically ahead of likewise reported criminal activities. Yet, in our recent general elections, 3 more facilities will be added to TDCJ's arsenal. I did not vote for them.

"Immunity" is the most dangerous legal theory ever invented. This State has proven it is merely a license to rape, pillage and, in the case of Judge Keller, [legalized] murder. I hope the case again Keller is a step in repairing this fatally flawed system.

I don't care about the law I just want my right to have guns upheld. Pistols, rifles, shotguns, Kentucky Rifles. Number 1, its a fundamental right and I really don't need to justify my right to anyone.

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