The Llano Ledger
Newsletter Text V34
This Website Is Full. Starting With The December 25, 2000 Newsletter,
All Future Editions Will Be Posted In The Llano Ledger 2, Found By
Clicking http://maxpages.com/llanoledger2.
*************April 3, 2000**************
In-depth analysis and commentary of Judge Sam Sparks Summary Judgement
Order in the first jail-rape civil suit has been delayed due to lack of
time and more pressing issues demanding coverage. It can be found on
Jail V1 and V2. Readers are reminded it provides a brief overview of
improper atrocious behavior tolerated in the jail. If you haven't
already read the Order, be sure to do so since it will facilitate
understanding of the Garrett Deposition as well as other jail-rape
material soon to presented. Full analysis and commentary of the
Sheriff's testimony will follow as soon as his deposition is completely
posted.
Readers are advised I've recently finally secured additional
long-sought jail-rape documents. These depositions are extremely
valuable since they confirm long-standing allegations involving a few
of our extraordinarily stellar officials. Although the Garrett
Deposition has not been completely posted yet, it should be quite
obvious to readers there are serious questions raised regarding the
judgement, fitness, and competence of the Sheriff.
The subsequent promotion of all jailers sued by Tina Wisdom, with
the exception of Holland Ligon, is terribly disturbing and indicative
of the "Good Old Boy" system deeply entrenched in the jail as well as
the rest of the Sheriff's Department. The deposition of former Chief
Jailer Melvin Lawson will shed light on the ongoing vestiges of
"Ligon's Law". Readers will recall Mr. Lawson "retired" as Chief Jailer
and became a Deputy in the Llano County Sheriff's Department. Although
not sued by Ms. Wisdom, Lawson and his policies are critical to an
understanding of the jail-rapes scandal. As also stated in an earlier
edition, Deputy Lawson is inexperienced as a police officer, and has
little to no understanding of the Fourth Amendment and its probable
cause requirements.
His "retirement" from the jail and subsequent "graduation" to
police officer, however, allowed Don Stewart's promotion to Chief
Jailer. Readers will recall Jailer John Overstreet was recently
promoted to Sergeant. As previously asserted, two of the three were
defendants in the Tina Wisdom jail-rape civil suit. All three, however,
have apparently now been rewarded for their steadfast loyalty to the
Sheriff. Readers will recall Ms. Wisdom's lawsuit resulted in a finding
that a rape had indeed occurred in the jail. No cash was awarded,
however, due to egregiously unfair sovereign immunity laws that protect
and coddle corrupt and abusive officials such as ours.
Until now, readers may have noticed there has been relatively little
commentary regarding the current Chief Jailer. Readers will recall Mr.
Stewart was cooperative and forthcoming during my review of the booking
records. The review took in excess of 16 hrs. over an 8-week period
last fall. Indeed, I had been aware of credible allegations regarding
Stewart's professional past, however, for quite some time, but
presented none of it since I could not confirm them.
Having recently secured the Lawson Deposition, however, Mr.
Lawson's testimony confirms the allegations and will be presented for
review by readers. In this excerpt, Austin attorney Marci Morrison of
Iris Jones & Associates questioned Chief Jailer Melvin Lawson about
the hiring of Don Stewart as a jailer. The interrogation began with
referral to a Lawson affidavit:
********************
Lawson Deposition Excerpt, Pages 191-195, July 27, 1998
Page 191
Q. Okay. Now, it also says on May 15, 1997, you hired Don Stewart. Is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you put an ad in the paper? Did the Llano County jail or the
Llano County Sheriff's Department put an ad in the paper with regard to
--
A. I don't recall.
Q. Well, with Mr. Overstreet you recall that you didn't think so.
With --
Mr. Shaunessy: With Mr. Overstreet, he said he was speculating. He said
he didn't recall. He said he was speculating earlier today. He said
that the newspaper ads wouldn't have been placed by him. They would be
placed by the sheriff, and the reason for that is pretty simple. The
sheriff is the only person in the jail that can spend money, generally
speaking, other than John Keith, so it's out of his control.
Ms. Morrison: Are you through testifying, Mr. Shaunessy?
Mr. Shaunessy: Yeah, I am, and I've
Page 192
got to tell you, I'm pretty frustrated at sitting here at 5:20 in
the afternoon trying to find out if we're putting ads in the paper for
certified jailers.
Ms. Morrison: I didn't ask about certified jailers.
Mr. Shaunessy: Well, they're all certified. They all passed TCLEOSE
standards. None of your experts have any problem with the fact that
they passed TCLEOSE standards. Okay? The fact of the matter is they're
certified; they're qualified. Now, I don't know where this is going,
and I have certainly allowed a lot of leeway in things that are not
even vaguely relevant.
Ms. Morrison: You'll know where it's going in a moment, sir.
Mr. Shaunessy: Well, could we get there? I'd really like to be home
before any of the following events occur -- and I'm afraid I'm not
going to -- my twins turn two, or Christmas.
Ms. Morrison: Let the record reflect that when Mr. Shaunessy was speaking he had his voice raised.
Q. Mr. Lawson, so you don't recall whether there was a newspaper
ad. Do you recall whether Mr. Stewart was taking someone's place or he
was just being hired as
Page 193
an extra jailer?
A. We haven't hired an extra jailer in several years, so he had to be replacing someone.
Q. Do you recall who that was?
A. No, I do not.
Q. Do you recall if there were any other applicants besides Mr. Stewart?
A. Yes, but I don't remember who. We interviewed two or three people that afternoon.
Q. All right. When you say "we," do you mean Sheriff Garrett and Mr. Keith and yourself?
A. Yes. Yes.
Q. During the interview with Mr. Stewart, did he tell you that he had been fired by the Llano Police Department?
A. I don't remember that.
Q. Okay. Do you know that Mr. Stewart was fired from the Llano Police Department?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you know why?
A. Yes.
Q. Can you state for the record your understanding of why he was fired?
Mr. Shaunessy: Tell them what you understand the basis of his termination to be.
Page 194
A. He went to pick up a female prisoner, and he took another civilian female with him as a rider.
Q. Took a female with him as a rider?
A. And I'm sure there were a few indiscretions that was not appropriate to a police officer, which caused his termination.
Q. Did you know that at the time you hired him?
A. Yes.
Q. And was that not of any concern to you that a man of that type
of moral character would be a jailer in your jail?
Mr. Shaunessy: What type of moral character are we talking about?
Somebody who has an extramarital relationship? That's what you're
asking? That's the moral character we're talking about. Right?
Q. Okay. Let me rephrase, sir. Did it concern you that you were
hiring a person as a jailer in your jail who not only had an
extramarital affair but who did so while he was supposed to be -- did
so in the process of going to get a female inmate to take back to the
Llano County?
Mr. Nelson: Objection. Mischaracterizes the testimony of Mr. Stewart as to what occurred.
Mr. Shaunessy: Don't worry about
Page 195
it. The question is were you concerned about the fact that you were
hiring this guy based on the problems he'd had over at Llano PD? That's
what I understand the question to be.
A. Not at that time.
Q. Has it since become a concern to you?
A. No, it has not.
**********************
Readers should understand the Sheriff hired Stewart despite his
professional past. In addition, he promoted him to Chief Jailer when
Lawson "retired". Fascinating, isn't it? In an interesting aside, on
page 68 of the Garrett Deposition, the Sheriff testified he reprimanded
Lawson in writing apparently in regard to his supervision of inmate
trusty Johnny Pesina. Garrett refused under oath to provide details:
**********************
Page 68
Q. Did you discipline Chief Lawson in any way?
A. Yes. I haven't -- I have disciplined Mr. Lawson.
Q. What did you do? What kind of discipline action did you take?
A. Ma'am, that's a personnel matter, and I'm not going to go into
that here in this -- what I disciplined Mr. Lawson about. And, I mean
--
Q. Did you reprimand him?
A. Yes.
Q. Verbally or in writing?
A. In writing.
Q. Is that a part of his personnel file?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he lose any time from work or --
A. No, ma'am.
**********************
On Page 229 of the Lawson Deposition, however, Lawson asserted he was not reprimanded by the Sheriff:
**********************
Page 229
Q. Were you reprimanded by Sheriff Garrett?
A. I can't say we were reprimand -- that I was reprimanded. I can
say that we got together, and he set some new goals and require that I
take supervisory training, which I did.
Q. So there was no written reprimand that's in your personnel file?
A. He made a list of requirements that he required to be accomplished within six months that I'm sure is in my file.
**********************
Interesting, isn't it? Which man is lying, or at the very least
distorting, reality? Good question. Regardless, Lawson suffered NO
consequences, "retired", and went on to a position as Deputy Sheriff.
The "Good Old Boys" never suffer any pain. ... Only their victims do.
While former Jailer Holland Ligon's Deposition still has to be
posted on this website, readers will recall the Sheriff finally fired
him for having sex with an inmate. Having known months before of the
"indiscretion", Garrett nonetheless did nothing. -- In deference to
Ligon's grandfather, former Sheriff Gale Ligon? Decide for yourself.
... Surprised the "Good Old Boys" take such good care of one another?
-- Don't be. There is much more to come. All of it unflattering. *****
Domestic violence in this country continues at a staggering pace. A
conversation with a dear friend earlier last week underscored the need
to keep this issue front and center. Although the egregious abuse of a
loved one resulting in hospitalization and knocked out teeth occurred
out of state, sadly, similar abuse or worse is prevalent in Texas, --
including our own area.
I call the attention of readers to a recent murder in Llano County.
A woman was allegedly shot and killed by her husband. The man is
incarcerated, and has been recently indicted by the Llano County Grand
Jury.; Murder is RARELY the first indication of domestic violence in
any household, however. ... Nearly never.
Earlier last year, domestic violence was discussed in the April 26,
1999 edition, and a place to get help was also posted on Information
and Services and Newsbriefs V1. Please. Please. PLEASE... If you're
battered, get out and get help. Don't delay, dawdle, make excuses, or
cower. Protect yourself and your children. Do it NOW. Don't wait until
you're maimed, -- or worse.
Although not as common, men are battered as well. ALL domestic
violence MUST be reported. DON'T delude yourself into thinking things
will get better if you do nothing. They WON'T. The batterer doesn't
"love" or give a damn about you or your children. He or she belongs in
prison for life, -- if for no other reason than to protect others from
sick, outrageous, and intolerably vicious behavior.
As earlier reported, from Jan. 1 to Nov. 10, 1999 there were AT
LEAST 19 prisoners incarcerated in the jail on Family Violence charges
for 1.3 days on the average. The charge is apparently NOT taken very
seriously by law enforcement, prosecutors, and area judges. Instead of
deliberately overloading the jail with often BOGUS Public Intoxication,
Drug, Disorderly Conduct, Traffic Warrants, etc., why not take Family
Violence much more seriously and HOLD offenders on higher bond? HELLO?
Equally disturbing, domestic violence calls are some of the most
dangerous confronting our officers. Why aren't these offenders taken
more seriously by our "judges"? *****
Two supporters have provided some badly needed financial support. A
third supporter has donated a bicycle. I'm deeply grateful to all
three. ... Regarding the bike, long-time readers will recall I've been
an avid cyclist for years. With a truck down for quite some time due to
a lack of funds, a cycle is most useful as well as invigorating. The
last one had well over 50,000 miles on it, and had been repeatedly
rebuilt and repaired. Sadly, it was no longer roadworthy, however.
... Clearly, it doesn't take much to brighten the day of a
dedicated freedom fighter and freedom writer. -- Beans in the pot, $1
DAV shoes, and a cycle to go get 'em, and hell I'm in Seventh Heaven.
Simple, unrefined, and certainly never subtle. -- Like the figurative
"stick" wickedly wielded with gusto on this website no doubt. Part of
my "charm". ... Nonetheless, I've certainly managed to rattle the cages
of a few of our most egregious offenders, however.
All joking aside, this publication HAS to be financially supported
by the readership. With rare exception, it has NOT. Despite exploding
expansion in readership, local businesses are afraid to advertise. Most
businesses prefer hardcopy advertising anyway. There will be no
hardcopy, however, if there is no financial support from the
readership. As repeatedly asserted, this publication MUST pay for
itself as it goes. I will assume no indebtedness at this time of life
for a publication that the readership will apparently not even
financially support. It is indeed that simple. If the readership does
not care about this community or each other, why the hell should I? A
50 cent price on a newspaper or newsletter does not even begin to pay
for the cost of publishing it.
_The Llano Ledger turned one year old Friday, March 31. It's been a
year of 14-18 hr. days, 7 days/week. -- With no resources or reliable
transportation, and despite harassment and ongoing hardship. No phone.
I don't even own the computers used to access the Internet. Yet,
despite all this dedication and effort there has been egregiously
little financial support. Nearly all of you have been quite willing to
COWARDLY allow this writer to take the risk, do all the work, put up
with the harassment, and swing in the wind. Damned pitiful and
incredibly selfish.
Since launch, there have been 53 regular issues and 3 special
editions. ... If I correctly counted. There is an enormous amount of
additional material that has also been posted as well. The visitor
count stands in excess of 11,700, and is rapidly expanding. As
repeatedly asserted, however, _The Ledger receives no income from the
banner and pop-up ads. They belong to Maxpages and pay for the website.
If you want desperately needed change in our community, financially
support this publication. If you don't give a damn, why the hell are
you reading this? Find something better to do.
Tim Chorney, Publisher
Tim Chorney, Publisher
P.O. Box 997
Buchanan Dam Tx. 78609
llanoledger@mailcity.com
Page Updated Tue Oct 9, 2001 1:21pm EDT