After contemplating the outrageously lenient plea bargain agreement (nine months in county jail) between District Attorney Luke Inman and Gayle Edes, in return for her guilty plea to Injury to a Child by Omission,I got to thinking, which can be an adventure for me.
While explaining his rational for the agreement, Mr. Inman stated, “The injury to a child case by omission was not something that we could file immediately due to factual and legal hurdles we had to overcome. It’s not as simple as going forward against the perpetrator who actually committed the assault. There had to be forensic medical testimony that would support the injury occurred as a result of not seeking medical attention, and that part of the investigation took time.”
I understand that Gayle Edes’ health has suffered during these intervening months. If I were facing this charge my health would suffer considerably, too – although not as much as Chance Jones’ health suffered. I’m still outraged that Mr. Inman basically let Gayle Edes walk. The dirty little fact that Chance died from his injuries apparently made little impact upon Mr. Inman’s sense of moral and judicial outrage.
In the case of Gayle Edes, justice was not served. I wondered how justice is normally served in the 100th Judicial District. A two year search of Clarendon Enterprise records, which do not include all the case dispositions in District Attorney Inman’s prosecutions over this period of time, I discovered that justice is usually served with a generous helping of leniency.
This leniency makes me wonder why this is so? One thing I’ve always loved about Texas is that we are a people who value law and order and are known to be tough on crime.
Perhaps Mr. Inman just doesn’t want to be bothered with trying cases in court. It’s much easier, and probably cheaper, to plea bargain than to prosecute. After all, he does have a large area to cover, and it may be tiring to spend all his time driving around his district, toting all those files and depositions around. Why not just plea bargain those cases that don’t involve unseemly death or injury? Now, a few of his cases involving injury did result in probation and deferred adjudication for the perps.
More than a few of Mr. Inman’s cases involved some remarkable case dispositions. For example, in one case, a man pleaded guilty to kidnapping, a 3rd degree felony. He received three years probation – for kidnapping for heaven’s sake!
Even worse, another fellow pled guilty to sexual assault of a child. His sentence? Probation, with deferred adjudication – which means he doesn’t have to register as a convicted sex offender. Nice.
On that same day, another disagreeable fellow pled guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and received two years probation with deferred adjudication. In case you didn’t know, deferred adjudication means that if you keep your nose clean for the duration of your probation or sentence, your record is wiped clean of your crime.
Over this time period several people have plea bargained burglary of habitat – which means they broke into an occupied house – into case dispositions that resulted in probated sentences with deferred adjudication. And we wonder why we have folks breaking into our local business, five of ‘em at last count.
Included also, were a few cases of misdemeanor drug possession – marijuana for example – that also resulted in a couple of years of probation with deferred adjudication. Meanwhile, there was an ill tempered man who pled guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He also received probation with deferred adjudication. There must have been some really interesting extenuating circumstance for him to the receive a similar sentence as the guy won was busted for possession of pot.
Throw in the two idiots who stole some water meters, with accompanying accessories, who also received probation with deferred adjudication, and you get my point.
For whatever reasons, Mr. Inman does not seem to be too tough on crime, which is good for the offenders and not so good for the victims and law abiding citizens.
It’s a shame because we (Donley County) have an exceptional sheriff and sheriff’s department. Sheriff Blackburn and his chief deputy Randy Bond, along with the rest of the deputies, do an excellent job of keeping the peace. They are excellent investigators and are highly committed solving crimes and keeping us as safe as possible. Sometimes, the leniency of our district attorney may undo much of the good that they do.
If all this bothers you as much as it bothers me, you can always put pressure on Luke to repent and change his ways.
The fact that Gayle Edes will only serve 90 days in a county jail instead of a prison and 10 years’ probation in the county of her choice, for a plea of guilty to a first degree felony is just wrong. Isn’t that like saying to someone that I am a little bit sorry but what I did isn’t that bad? Gayle can still see her friends, drive around free, sleep in her bed and most of all live her life.
I am not sure why the DA decided to offer her a plea but I do not feel like it was best for what she did. I admit I do not know all the ins and outs of the law but it seems like she just got a slap on the hand compared to what she deserved. At the time she was the only person who could have helped her grandson. She knew what her son, Robert, was doing and did absolutely nothing to prevent any more of it or to stop it.
Before Chance Mark went to live with Robert, he was a happy, healthy smart 4-year old boy. He lived with a couple in Post Texas that loved and adored him. He had other “family” that cherished him. The couple in Post were more his parents than anyone had ever been. They took Chance, his sister and their mother in when they had nowhere else to go. Chance’s mom had made bad decisions and burned a lot of bridges with the people that could have helped her. Chance had a stable home with this couple and he loved them as much as they loved him. Most of the time Chance’s mom did her own thing and this couple cared for Chance and his sister. As things went on it became obvious to this couple that Chance’s mom was still making bad choices and about to leave and take these two kids to who knows where. So it was decided it was time to call CPS.
CPS came to the house and ask Chance’s mom to submit to a drug test. She refused. She told them she had used drugs and they were in her system. Instead of taking custody of the children or sending the mom somewhere, CPS allowed this woman, who just admitted she had drugs in her system, to decide what would happen with her kids till there was a hearing. CPS told her that the kids could stay where they were. They could live with a relative or that she could stay there with the kids as long as she was not alone with them because there had been some abuse on her part. Since she was mad that this couple had turned her in, she decided the children could go stay with their fathers. Men neither one of them were close to at the time.
Chance’s sister had a dad that had known Chance’s mom for at least a year before Chance was born. This man thought he was Chance’s dad and gave Chance his name. Chance’s mom started asking for cash from him and when she was angry would tell him that Chance is not your son. So the man asks for a paternity test and said he would set up child support. Well when Chance had just turned four it was proven that Chance was not his son but the daughter was his. That is when 2 other men were tested and it discovered that Robert Babcock was his dad.
When CPS and Chance’s mom notified Robert about what had happened with Chance and that he could live with him. Robert had met Chance one other time, at the paternity test. Robert who knew nothing about kids and did not know Chance came to town that day. Outraged that Chance’s mom would have abused a 4 year old. (She was accused of slapping him and his sister and spanking with a belt) He wanted Chance to go with him then. It was finally decided that him and Chance needed time to have visits and get to know each other over the next few months. Robert did a few visits with Chance and in less than a month decided he was taking Chance to live with him. Robert was told we would do anything to help them or if he needed anything just to call.
Once with Robert, Chance was not allowed to talk to anyone who had loved him or cared about him. No one was allowed to see him and sometimes there was just no answer to calls or text messages. When Robert did answer all he would say is that Chance was fine. Also once Chance was with Robert, CPS was not involved as before. Robert was the biological dad.
It took less than one month for this man that was known to others for his temper to beat Chance to death. Robert beat Chance time and time again over an eleven day period. Robert was very careful to hide it from everyone. Everyone, except Gayle. She had been to Robert’s house. She had seen Chance and how he had to be suffering, saw the bruises and what was happening. She was the only other person around Chance besides Robert. She knew what was going on and did nothing. She was his last hope and she had let him down.
When 911 was finally called by Robert, it was too little too late. When Chance was at the hospital, Gayle was there. Again the people that loved Chance and truly cared for him were not allowed to see him there, to speak to him to let him know they had not forgotten him and that they loved him. Gayle, yet again sat in the room with Chance, knew what had happened and saw that little body and how he had been battered from the top of his head to the tops of his feet and still said nothing. She heard the doctors, the nurses, the officers and others talk about how that little boy must have suffered and how badly beaten and bruised he was. She sat there and looked at him and showed no guilt, no shame and little emotion. She had been Chance’s last chance and she had failed him. Did she understand that she was just as guilty as Robert?
I believe in my heart that God looked down from Heaven and saw Chance and what was going on and told him that if he was not going to be allowed to be with the people that loved and cared for him that he belonged in Heaven with him.
Gayle was a grandmother to this little boy and yet she watched him die because she did not step up. How does a person do that? She could have saved him and her son. Now she has lost her son to the prison system and a precious little boy to death. She should know that Chance would have loved her if only he had been given the chance. His heart and his love was big enough for all to share. My question is, does she even care?
I am part of the family that loved Chance and knew he was one of us from the day he was born. When child abuse touches a family as it has us with Chance, it leaves a hurt, a hole in your heart and a burning desire to try to stop this from happening to anyone else. That is why this family has decided to speak up. We will do anything we can. We try and tell others that if you think someone is being abused, DO something, tell someone, take some kind of action. If it is physical or emotional it is abuse. If it is a woman, man or child, it is abuse. Do NOT stay silent. You may be someone’s last chance. If you are not sure, find a way to have someone check it out. Everyone in our family wears a bracelet to remind us of our love for Chance and how we can help others. That bracelet simply says,
“Don’t take a CHANCE”
We realize that if you do nothing there can be a high price for that person to pay. As well as those that love that person.
Chance Mark Jones, we love you!
Fred it is 90 days not nine months