The Paris, Texas Chain Reaction
And Now There Is Bobby Yates
Nancy R. Lockhart, M.J.
Paris, Texas –"is a city located 98 miles (158 km) northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States" according to Wikipedia.org.
On April 6, 2009 Howard Witt (The Chicago Tribune), reported on the 100 year sentence given to Aaron Hart in Paris, Texas. "...Hart is profoundly mentally retarded. He has an IQ of 47, and his parents say he functions at the level of a 9-year-old. The boy he confessed to molesting is mentally retarded as well." In The Chicago Tribune on April 8, 2009 Witt reports that "Lamar County Judge Eric Clifford denied defense motions seeking either a new trial or a new sentencing hearing for Hart. " This has been appealed and a new trial takes place for Aaron Hart with jury selection on May 18th 2011 and a trial date of May 26th.
Shaquanda Cotton of Paris, Texas writes (http://freeshaquandacotton.blogspot.com) -- I am a 14-year-old black freshman who shoved a hall monitor at Paris High School in a dispute over entering the building before the school day had officially begun and was sentenced to 7 years in prison. I have no prior arrest record, and the hall monitor–a 58-year-old teacher’s aide–was not seriously injured. I was tried in March 2006 in the town’s juvenile court, convicted of “assault on a public servant” and sentenced by Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville to prison for up to 7 years, until I turn 21. Just three months earlier, Superville sentenced a 14-year-old white girl, convicted of arson for burning down her family’s house, to probation.
The FinalCall.com reports that - when the body of a 24-year-old Black man in Paris, Texas was discovered in the middle of a busy road, law enforcement declared the case a hit and run by an unidentified driver.
Now this small racially-divided town’s worst fears are brewing, with evidence pointing towards two White men who picked up Brandon MClelland in their Dodge truck before he was found mutilated and dismembered in September.
Forensics performed by the Texas Rangers found blood from Mr. McClelland and other DNA evidence on the undercarriage of the truck which has the victim’s family calling the death a “Jasper-style” lynching. The term is a reference to the murder of a Black man in Jasper, Texas in 1998.
“They tied my son to that truck and drugged him until his body parts were detached,” said Jacqueline McClelland, the victim’s mother in an interview with The Final Call.
And now, there's The State of Texas v. Bobby Yates
A 16 year old white female and two adult white males, asked Bobby to allow them to enter his home, claiming they were locked out of their own. Bobby reluctantly allowed them in. Several hours later, Bobby made a 911 call. He told the operator that three people were in his home threatening his life and he was afraid of them, they refused to leave. He said one of the three assaulted him by beating him in his face. Bobby can be heard on the 911 call telling the group to get out of his home and telling them not to come near him. The police arrived and Bobby explained that the three refused to leave, jerked the phone from him and prevented him from using his own phone the first time he tried to call 911. Yates also attempted to leave his front door and the three grabbed his wheelchair and prevented him from leaving. The female claimed Bobby touched her vagina even though the two men were in the same room with her the entire time she was in Bobby’s home. One of the men was her boyfriend.
Six months later on September 22, 2008, Bobby was arrested and charged with Sexual assault of a child. Bobby called 911 for help but, the police report claimed it was the female who called for help and the police have made no mention of Yates being assaulted or, held against his will. The report however; does mention that the female was so high on drugs that her speech was slurred. For purposes of indictment, a phot of Yates was taken which makes Yates appear to be standing. Yates cannot stand, he has endured a lower body amputation. The grand jury was never informed of his weight – it was conviently omitted - and the fact that he had no lower limbs was omitted as well.
Bobby’s Lower Body Was Amputated 20 Years Ago (http://justiceforbobbyyates.blogspot.com)
Mr. Yates is scheduled for jury selection on May 18th 2011 and his trial date is May 26. Aaron is scheduled to appear on both dates as well for his new trial. Both Bobby Yates and Aaron Hart will appear before Judge Eric Clifford.
Bobby Yates, after going over the jury pool and seeing that in the pool was
the district attorneys father, the city attorney, police officers wife, and a
number of other people of concern, decided to take a deferred ajudication
offer. His concern over losing his housing, the fact that the attorney who came
down and told him he was going to represent him was forced to back out at the
last minute, because he couldn't get out of prior commitments and the makeup of the jury
pool led him to this decision. The following is included in his deferred offer:
The sexual assault charge was dismissed. A plea of no contest to picking up
a knife when he was being assaulted was agreed to. Bobby doesn't have to pay
any money, report to any probation and he's eligible for dismissal and his
record expunged after a year. Bobby also was told that his Sec 8 housing would remain
secure.
Its as close to not being convicted as one can get without being convicted.
Its unfortunate that Bobby felt he must agree to any plea at all but its not the first time an innocent man has been compelled to plea to something he wasn't guilty of. There were multiple civil right violations in
Bobbys case and our fight to address that is not over. Also, Bobby is still in need of
medical care and other special needs. He's in need of a special air pillow which costs approx
$300.00.
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