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Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Years

By Jeralyn, Section Misconduct
Posted on Wed Jun 01, 2005 at 05:46:15 PM EST
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When we last checked in with Texas Panhandle District Attorney Rick Roach, elected following a get-tough-on drugs campaign, he had pleaded guilty in federal court to a being a drug addict in possession of a firearm in exchange for the dismissal of several more firearms and cocaine and methamphetamine charges. Among the sordid details:

Alleged illegal drug use, pornography on a work computer, 2 pounds of missing methamphetamine, and a syringe found floating in a staff-only courthouse toilet - all of that and more came forth Tuesday as part of the developing case against 31st District Attorney Rick Roach of Pampa.

Today he was sentenced to five years in prison. He still faces state drug charges, and 10 to 99 years or life on those charges.

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    Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Years | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#1)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:34 PM EST
    This guy needs prison.

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#2)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:34 PM EST
    Which of the crimes is a violent crime, Freddie?

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:34 PM EST
    He's an addict. While it is reprehensible that he put people in jail for the same thing he was doing, a five year sentence from the feds followed by ten years from the state is excessive. Hopefully, the Texas sentence will run concurrently. For a prosecutor, a sentence to the state penitentiary could well be a death sentence. Solitary is not a humane solution. Addiction is an illness, it should not treated as a crime carrying stiffer penalties than robbery, burglary, assault, etc.

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#4)
    by roger on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:35 PM EST
    TL rocks! Couldnt have said it better myself

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#5)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:35 PM EST
    TL, Amen Gee, a liberal site backing a prosecutor. Where's the right trash on this one? Keeping a low profile, as they should. Someone must have turned on the lights. They all scurried.

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#6)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:35 PM EST
    "Addiction is an illness," Yeah, ya lost me with that one. Because, jeez, how can you hold someone accountable for what they do when they have an illness? I mean, wouldn't we all have done the same thing if we were ill like him? He knew what he was getting into when he started doing illegal drugs, and every addict that stops using does so when, and only when, they choose to do so. I sure wish I could choose to stop my sinuses from filling with so much mucus today...oh yeah, I have a head cold, you know, an actual illness, something I can't choose to control. The addiction defense. Boy oh boy, there are so many kinds of addictions, should all of them excuse criminal behavior? Take Ken Lay, one of the favorite whipping boys here on TL, I'll bet you could make a very strong case that he did what he did because he was addicted to money, power, ego-stroking, whatever, you name it. It was all such a rush for him. He knew it was wrong and would eventually fall apart and hurt him but he could't stop himself from continuing to do it. Maybe he should be sentenced to a couple months in the Betty Ford clinic rather than a federal pen?

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#7)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:37 PM EST
    Sarcastic, When your heart is ill you get chest pain. When your brain is messed up by mind altering drugs you don't get chest pain. You get a specific set of symptoms that can and often do lead to behavioral dysfunction. this is unique to the brain because it is where our cognitive function and judgement centers are located. So when someone has a substance abuse problem, the symptoms are often manifested from the effects of the abused substances on those centers, leading to poor judgement and poor reasoning. The sociological effects are secondary. This does not obviate the need for treatment of the PRIMARY problem, which has a much better probability of success than prison, and at about half the cost.

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#8)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:37 PM EST
    Sarcastic, He knew what he was getting into when he started doing illegal drugs Everyone who smokes CHOOSES the consequences. Everyone who races cars CHOOSES the risks also. Everyone who eats piles of Big Macs CHOOSES to screw their bodies up also. In all cases, the prosecutor included, NO ONE ELSE GOT HURT. We all make bad choices sometimes. Who are you to judge another's actions?

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:38 PM EST
    This case illustrates an example that challenges our moral compass. Jesus would say "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." As this isn't quite yet a theocracy, I as a progressive would like for this Prosecutor to experience first-hand lying in the bed he made for so many other people. However... unfair is unfair. Unproductive and unnecessary are what they are. Given this reality, it is as stupid to lock him up for a non-violent crime as it is to lock up everyone else.

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#10)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:38 PM EST
    Che, mfox, you both bring up interesting and debatable points, but they're tangental to what I was discussing. My only point was in response to "Addiction is an illness" - that defining addiction as an "illness" and thereby suggesting that the addict has no control over, and should not be held responsible for, his/her actions, is something I heartily disagree with. And I would further disagree with the rest of TL's sentance "Addiction is an illness, it should not treated as a crime" The statement is false and misleading - his addiction (chemical, psychological) is not being treated as a crime, his actions (guns, drugs) are.

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#11)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:38 PM EST
    Of all the charges against him, I don't see a victim. Must we really shackle and chain him, cloth and feed him? I love the drug addict in possesion of a firearm charge. WTF? Are alcoholics allowed to posess firearms in Texas? How about chocolate addicts? Unless he shot someone, I don't see how on earth that can be a jailable offense. Next, drug addicts (or just users) won't be allowed to vote.

    Re: Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Y (none / 0) (#12)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:40 PM EST
    Sarc, I still say treat the underlying problem and the rest solves itself. At least in the vast majority of cases. Jail is not only a waste of time but actually increases his risk of recidivism. With a system like that I wonder sometimes just exactly which minds are the altered ones.

    Panhandle Texas Prosecutor Sentenced to Five Years | 12 comments (12 topical)