Delma Banks resentenced to life

[mammastalkin]

"A convicted murdered returns to Bowie County for a new sentencing hearing.

Delma Banks has been on death row for 30 years. He was found guilty and sentenced to die in 1980 for the murder of 16-year old Richard Wayne Whitehead."

My thoughts are with Delma. He needs a new trial.

[lisainengland]

Lets hope Delma recieves a new trial

[mammastalkin]

Delma Banks Jr., who has been on death row for three decades, on Wednesday accepted a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in 2024 under an agreement with Bowie County prosecutors.


So glad he is off d/r!! Read the article here.

[thegreatdoubter]

Originally Posted by mammastalkin

Delma Banks Jr., who has been on death row for three decades, on Wednesday accepted a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in 2024 under an agreement with Bowie County prosecutors.


So glad he is off d/r!! Read the article here.

So am I, mammastalkin....in all likelihood he was wrongly convicted anyway.

References to probable innocence of Delma Banks, Jr.:

www.skepticaljuror.com (search his blog for 'Delma Banks' and you will find their review of Mr. Banks' case, in two parts)

www.talkleft.com/story/2003/03/10/250/78850

www.nodeathpenalty.org (once on this website, search for 'Delma Banks' and you will find an article entitled 'Attorney George Kendall on the case of Delma Banks)

-the great doubter.

[CenTexLyn]

I'm not sure about the legitimacy of any claim that he isn't eligible until 2024. He cannot waive parole eligibility as it existed at the time of the offense. And parole is based on the laws in place when the offense was committed, not when one is sentenced. And in the era where the offense was committed, the eligibility was no longer than 20 years into the sentence, meaning that he should be instantly eligible even if not likely to be released. Further, the case will be subject to SB45 voting guidelines...although that caps each set-off at three years instead of the five that would otherwise be imposed at each denial.

[mammastalkin]

Maybe this will clarify his sentence:
"Under the plea agreement reached Wednesday, any credit for time he’s already served begins with 2004, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Banks’ conviction but agreed with a lower federal appeals court decision that he should have a new punishment hearing. When he was tried originally, Texas had no life without parole option for jurors in capital cases."
The article is here.

[CenTexLyn]

Originally Posted by mammastalkin

Maybe this will clarify his sentence:
"Under the plea agreement reached Wednesday, any credit for time he’s already served begins with 2004, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Banks’ conviction but agreed with a lower federal appeals court decision that he should have a new punishment hearing. When he was tried originally, Texas had no life without parole option for jurors in capital cases."
The article is here.

Even with a somewhat conservative Court of Criminal Appeals, I don't see that plea passing the smell test...it is contrary to far too many established legal principles and precedents. Simply put, the State lacks the legal (not to mention ethical) authority to offer a plea that suggests the past 20-plus years in custody didn't happen...

I see this becoming the subject of a writ somewhere down the road...and everyone goes back to square one.