The rules in place to help end the COVID-19 pandemic have had profound impacts on our lives. We’ve learned new words and phrases like “shelter in place” and “social distancing.” Businesses are closed causing many to lose their jobs. Restaurants are fighting for survival selling take-out, and retail shops are drying up. While the extent of the exact damage is nearly impossible to predict, we are surrounded by constant reminders that our economy is in significant distress.
Jim Leavelle survived Pearl Harbor, testified in the “Trial of the Century,” retired a legendary detective, and attained the age of 99. While researching “The Assassin’s Assassin,” the tall man in the light suit wearing the Stetson hat in Bob Jackson’s famous, Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph told me all about his experience with Jack Ruby, the man who killed Lee Harvey Oswald. Today, in his honor, I’ll share that with you.
He was tall, handsome, and raised in a religious house. As a youth he worked in his father’s grocery store. He was a star athlete at Farmersville high school in Denton, a Texas state record holder in the hurdles. He pledged Pi Kappa Alpha at UNT. And if he hadn’t hitchhiked down Sunset Blvd. in the summer of 1968, he might never have met Charlie Manson. His name is Charles “Tex” Watson, and 50 years ago today, he began a mission of murder called “Helter Skelter.”
In South Carolina, Timothy Jones Jr. was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering his 5 children, ranging in age from 1 to 8. He plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Let’s discuss this case and the insanity defense in Texas. Read More