September 01, 2004, 12:14 PM

Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal

By Rob Booth

Mr. Rosenthal e-mailed Chronically Biased today to let us know that he wasn't happy with the way the Houston Chronicle edited his letter to their Viewpoints section.

Here is the version he sent them:

Viewpoints

In its August 25 editorial “Unmoved by Injustice,” the Chronicle characterizes the prosecution of George Rodriguez as a “probable miscarriage of justice” and criticizes my attitude towards Mr. Rodriguez's claims of innocence.

The Chronicle has drawn a premature conclusion that is inaccurate and unfair. Injustice, whether to the victim of a crime or to anyone wrongfully convicted, is intolerable to me.

The stakes in this controversy are very high. If Mr. Rodriguez is innocent, he needs to be released as soon as possible. If Mr. Rodriguez committed the sexual assault for which a jury convicted him, however, my acquiescence to his attorneys' appeals could result in a very dangerous person being released into this community.

There are facts about the George Rodriguez case that are indisputable. A fourteen-year-old girl was completely disrobed and sexually assaulted by two men. That girl identified Mr. Rodriguez at his trial as one of the men who assaulted her. Testimony concerning Rodriguez’s alibi was also presented at his trial. That girl, now a woman, still believes that she correctly identified Rodriguez.

There is a recent DNA analysis of a hair that was found on the victim’s underclothing. The analysis shows that Isidro Yanez or, a male or female relative of his, contributed the hair. The room in which the assault took place had not been cleaned in some time so it is impossible to determine when the hair in question was shed. A serology test conducted by HPD on the samples from a rape kit and the girl’s clothing eliminated Mr. Yanez as a contributor to the samples.

The question now is to determine whether HPD’s test was done correctly. As I told Chronicle columnist Rick Casey in an August 24 e-mail, “since we do not have all the data in, it [the accuracy of the HPD test] is still speculative to me.” My staff is carefully reviewing all of the evidence and will recommend a course of action consistent with our duty to see that justice is done. To move precipitously in a matter of such importance would be irresponsible to Mr. Rodriguez, the victim of the sexual assault, and our community.

Rather than try this case in the media, I believe that all of the evidence should be presented to a judge who will then make findings for the Court of Criminal Appeals. At that time, justice will be done in Mr. Rodriguez's case.

Charles A. Rosenthal, Jr.
Harris County District Attorney
1201 Franklin, Suite 600
Houston, Texas 77002

Here's the version the Chronicle printed:

DA reiterates position on justice

THE Chronicle's Aug. 25 editorial, “Unmoved by injustice,” characterized the prosecution of George Rodriguez as a “probable miscarriage of justice” and criticized my attitude toward Rodriguez's claim of innocence.

The Chronicle drew a premature conclusion that was inaccurate and unfair. Injustice, whether to the victim of a crime or to anyone wrongfully convicted, is intolerable to me. The stakes in this controversy are very high.

If Rodriguez is innocent, he needs to be released as soon as possible. If he committed the sexual assault for which a jury convicted him, my acquiescence to his attorneys' appeals could result in his being released back into the community.

There are facts about the case that are indisputable. A 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by two men. At his trial, the girl identified Rodriguez as one of the men who assaulted her. That girl, now a woman, still believes that she correctly identified Rodriguez.

There is recent DNA analysis that shows that Isidro Yanez or a male or female relative of his was involved in the assault. A serology test was conducted by the Houston Police Department on evidence from the case and the question now is to determine whether HPD's test was done correctly.

As I told Chronicle columnist Rick Casey in my Aug. 24 e-mail, “Since we do not have all the data in, it (the accuracy of the HPD test) is still speculative to me.” My staff is carefully reviewing all of the evidence and will recommend a course of action consistent with our duty to see that justice is done. To move precipitously in a matter of such importance would be irresponsible. All of the evidence should be presented to a judge who will then make findings for the court. At that time, justice will be done in Rodriguez's case.

CHARLES A. ROSENTHAL JR.
Harris County District Attorney
Houston

Look at the Chronicle's paragraph that begins with There is recent DNA analysis that shows that Isidro Yanez or a male or female relative of his was involved in the assault. Look at Mr. Rosenthal's version of that paragraph.

Enough said.

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