| The Story | Becky Simpson is sentenced to
25 years in prison in a murder for hire trial. Simpson hired (no
longer "allegedly") an undercover officer to murder the wife of
Danny Watts. |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | This may not rival the
Sharon Green case, but it sure feels like it right now. |
| The Story | The jurors in the Simpson trial
also imposed the maximum fine, $10,000. |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | You hardly ever see fines in
prison sentence cases. That was an exclamation point. |
| The Story | Prosecutors, according to the Messenger, said she will be
eligible for parole in "a little less than six years." |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | True, but it's murky. The
law is that she becomes eligible once her real time plus good conduct time equals one
fourth of her sentence. Two factors: Being eligible for parole doesn't
mean you will be granted parole. And that good conduct time has
to be earned. |
| The Story | During the punishment phase, she
accused her husband of having a bad temper. |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | It is not a good idea to
throw your husband, who gave you everything you wanted, under the
bus for absolutely no reason - especially while you are asking a jury
for mercy. |
| The Story | "David Tooley of Arlington,
Simpson's fiancé, also became emotional when he asked the jury
to give her probation." |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | Fiancé? Where the
heck did he come from? |
| The Story | "The reason I'm not here asking
for the death penalty is because of good police work," the prosecutor
told the jury. (Meaning that if the murder had taken place,
Simpson could have been on trial for capital murder that carries with
it the death penalty.) |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | That was pretty good line. |
| The Story | Her defense lawyer, Ray Bass of
Austin (who I have never heard of), said that the prosecutors had
offered him a plea bargain offer of 15 years. |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | You don't see admissions
like that very often in criminal cases. There's an unwritten rule of
professional courtesy that neither the prosecution or the defense will
volunteer to the media what the plea bargain was. And I've never seen
the losing side admit that a better plea bargain offer was passed upon.
(But don't necessarily think the lawyer told Becky Simpson to reject
the 15 year offer - it is her, and not him, that makes that call. I
suspect she would have turned down the 15 year offer). |
| The Story | 'My view is this jury held it
against her that her husband has a great deal of wealth," Bass said. |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | It probably didn't help with
the sympathy factor, but, in the end, the only money that mattered was
the $2,000 that was placed in an envelope and passed to an undercover
officer. |
| The Story | And now it is over. |
| News worthiness | ***** |
| The Spin | And I kinda feel sick about the whole thing. (Messenger photos here). |