Banking industry mysteries on the Chron letters page
Anne Linehan commented earlier on the HISD angle to a letter printed in today's Chronicle.
There's another problem with that letter, a problem that's consistent with the newspaper's long-term treatment of Harris County DA and apparent "bad guy" Chuck Rosenthal.
Here's the relevant excerpt:
In the Chronicle's June 3 article ``HISD wrong to probe case itself, DA says,'' Rosenthal said HISD should have requested help from an outside law enforcement agency as soon as its investigation into consulting contracts uncovered potential criminal acts. And this is the same district attorney who refused for months to agree to an independent investigation of the Houston Police crime lab? How many people have been wrongly imprisoned due to the lab's shoddy work?
I see a double standard here.
LEE L. KAPLAN, Houston
This blog forced the Chronicle to issue a correction not that long ago for running a letter that mischaracterized Rosenthal's position on the crime lab, but apparently it is not a standard practice in the banking industry for people like letters editor Judy Minshew to learn from past mistakes. Just to be clear on Rosenthal's position on the crime lab, here is what he told blogHOUSTON back in October:
... I followed up with Rosenthal, who explained that he actually had called for a Blue Ribbon Review panel to review the crime lab (which Judge Robert Eckels supported but then-Mayor Lee Brown opposed), and that he later wrote to then-police chief Joe Brashears urging a review of the entire crime lab. He admits that he has refused to recuse himself "unless there was evidence that any of my staff was involved in wrongdoing" and contends he's just doing the job he was elected to do. He has also opposed a "Cleveland plan" style review, contending that it is not appropriate to Houston's circumstance.
The letter writer certainly is right to ask about double standards, but (like the Chronicle) is too focused on Chuck Rosenthal, whose office is put in a real bind because of the crime lab fiasco.
Here's a better question: Why is the Houston Chronicle not more focused on the roles of former police chief Clarence Bradford and former mayor Lee Brown in said fiasco?
UPDATE: Steve McVicker writes about the latest crime-lab developments on Chron.com. Of course, it wouldn't be a Chronicle story if an earlier version hadn't included an error related to Chuck Rosenthal, but at least the newspaper deserves credit for a transparent correction (would we be nitpicking to suggest the proper spelling of "discrepancies?" Probably).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/06/05 09:31 PM | Houston Chronicle | Print | Comments (0)
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