Stop the Presses--a Woman Is Held Accountable for Making a False Accusation
April 3rd, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & FamiliesAccording to this Associated Press article, a Texas grand jury is actually holding a woman accountable for making a false accusation of rape--an accusation which led to the killing of the man she accused. The jury, correctly, saw that the woman’s husband acted reasonably--his wife screamed to him that she was being raped, so, like any good Texan, he shot the "rapist." But it turns out that the man wasn't a rapist at all--she was having an extramarital affair with him. Believe it or not, they dropped the charges against the husband and indicted the wife for manslaughter.
According to the article, Mark Osler, a Baylor University law school professor and a former federal prosecutor, said the grand jurors evidently put themselves in the husband's place: "I can see one of them saying, `I would have shot the guy, too. I was just protecting my wife."'
To be fair, the woman acted quickly, and perhaps would not have made a similar claim if she had more time to think. Nevertheless, I don't have much sympathy for her.
Wife indicted after husband shoots and kills her lover in Texas
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Darrell Roberson came home from a card game late one night to find his wife rolling around with another man in a pickup truck in the driveway. Caught in the act with her lover, Tracy Denise Roberson -- thinking quickly, if not clearly -- cried rape, authorities say. Her husband pulled a gun and killed the other man with a shot to the head.
On Thursday, a grand jury handed up a manslaughter indictment -- against the wife, not the husband.
In a case likely to reinforce the state's reputation for don't-mess-with-Texas justice, the grand jury declined to charge the husband with murder, the charge on which he was arrested by police.
"If I found somebody with my wife or with my kids in my house, there's no telling what I might do," said Juan Muniz, 33, who was having lunch Friday with one of his two small children at a restaurant in the middle-class suburban Dallas neighborhood where the Robersons lived. "I probably would have done the same thing."
Tracy Roberson, 35, could get two to 20 years in prison in the slaying of Devin LaSalle, a 32-year-old UPS employee.
Assistant District Attorney Sean Colston declined to comment on specifics of the case or the grand jury proceedings but said Texas law allows a defendant to claim justification if he has "a reasonable belief that his actions are necessary, even though what they believe at the time turns out not to be true."
Mark Osler, a Baylor University law school professor and a former federal prosecutor, said the grand jurors evidently put themselves in the husband's place: "I can see one of them saying, `I would have shot the guy, too. I was just protecting my wife."'
The December night before the shooting, Tracy Roberson sent LaSalle a text message that read in part, "Hi friend, come see me please! I need to feel your warm embrace!" according to court papers. LaSalle apparently agreed.
Darrell Roberson, a 38-year-old employee of a real estate firm, discovered the two, his wife clad in a robe and underwear.
When Tracy Roberson cried that she was being raped, LaSalle tried to drive away and her husband drew the gun he happened to be carrying and fired several shots at the truck, authorities said.
Darrell Roberson's attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
His wife also was charged with making a false report to a police officer -- for allegedly saying she was raped -- and could get up to six months behind bars on that offense. It was not immediately clear whether she had a lawyer.
She had not been arrested as of Friday afternoon.
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April 3rd, 2007 at 11:26 pm
I guess that would be considered some kind of domestic violence in some places, so I ask Glenn: What is your view of this DV conference in your neck of the woods in the next few days?
http://www.sandiegofamilyjusticecenter.org/Media/intl-conference-brochure.pdf
April 4th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
“Tracy Roberson, 35, could get two to 20 years in prison in the slaying of Devin LaSalle, a 32-year-old UPS employee.”
Two to 20 years huh? Bet she gets closer to 2 years than to 20 years. You know, it was afterall just a man that got his brains blown out. This bitch would rather see a guy get falsely charged with rape to keep the lie of her marriage alive to her husband. Wanna bet that instead of seeing this the court will look at her as a distraught female with diminshed capacity and therefore deserving of a sentence of 2 years and one day behind bars?
April 4th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I'm with you on this one, Denis. IMO the only reason she is being indicted is the fact her lie resulted in someone's death. If the guy had been arrested for rape and jailed she would have gotten away with it. There is no doubt this woman is a scum-bag. Shows how much she really cared about her "lover". If she gets any jail time it will be a surprise to me. I wouldn't be surprised to see a long probation or some other slap on the wrist. The jury will look at her lover as the bad guy who was having an affair with someone's wife and deserved what he got. As you know, there must be a male to blame. It's never a woman's fault.
April 4th, 2007 at 4:56 pm
As a TX resident I can tell you that while the family courts are just as biased against the father as in every other state, the criminal court system is another story. Which is why the grand jury indicted her and not her husband. Our state slogan says it all, and in most cases our juries have more common sense. You don't see a lot of jury civil suits in this state for people who did something stupid but wanted to sue anyway; think the old lady with the McDonald's coffee dumped in her lap because her adult son took off from the drive thru window too fast. That case would not have survived a TX court, whether it was tried by jury or judge, they would have been laughed out the door. I predict that if this goes to trial (no deals made outside the court) she will get at least 10 years. IMO she should get the max, but I do think she will get at least 10.
April 4th, 2007 at 7:26 pm
Hey JeanB;
I live in the South too, as you can guess by my username. I don't think you can count out the fact that the man killed was committing adultery with this woman. In the South, that's still a big no-no. Southern juries may hold the dead guy somewhat responsible for his own death. As in, if he wasn't fooling around with a married woman he'd still be alive. Southern justice where I am isn't much different than Texas. Although Texas is the top dog.
April 4th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I believe that in the McDonald's trial, evidence was presented they had done extensive testing on the effects of increasing coffee temperture vs. the number of free refills. McDonalds decided on "3rd degree burns in a cup." Even in Texas, Ronald would have gotten his butt kicked.
April 5th, 2007 at 9:37 am
SouthernDad, I hadn't thought of that point. I suppose in the end he is partially responsible for his own death, but that will be for the defense attorney to bring up. If he/she is smart it will be part of the defense. In the meantime, she is the only living "reason" for the man's death and will be held accountable. As for the husband, I am SO glad he was not charged at all. That poor man, he now has to live the rest of his life knowing he killed another human being, and under false pretenses. I'm sure once the affair was out he would have been quite angry and hurt, but I doubt he would have killed the other man or his wife over it.
DanH, in the McDonald's case it was brought out that her son was driving and pulled out from the drive-thru window too fast, while the coffee cup was resting between his mother's legs. If the cup had been better secured and/or her son drove properly she never would have gotten burned. Another case of not taking responsibility for one's own actions.
April 6th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Dear JeanB,
You spill coffee, you soil your clothes and the car seat and have to go home and change clothes. That's life. But 3rd degree burns that required skin grafts?!? No, something is wrong with this picture. It was only a matter of time before McDonalds saving a buck on refills by serving boiling hot coffee was going to hurt someone bad, and it did.
McDonalds lost, not because coffee was split, that happens all the time. They lost because there were willfully serving superheated coffee that there was little doubt would severely injure man, woman, child, or animal if they came into contact with it.
Just as easily, the headlines could have read that someone bumped a table and dumped a cup into a baby carrier all over a 3 month old. Should there simply be a mess to clean up or disfiguring injuries? The jury got it right that the penalty for a spill was too high.
Forty five years ago on a Washington State Ferry, a man reached for the sugar for his coffee. In retrieving it, bumped a cup of boiling hot coffee off the counter onto the head of a 4 year old boy. Dad grabbed two glasses of ice water and dumped it on the kid’s head before the coffee cup hit the floor. The kid was wet but uninjured. We buried Dad in 1999. Today we buried Mom’s second husband of 38 years. Both husbands had been in the United States Navy.
April 6th, 2007 at 9:31 am
DanH,
I am sorry for your loses. I know the feeling all too well. But I still do not completely agree. Granted, the coffee was found to be too hot. That being said, any person with any common sense would not place a hot liquid in a styrofoam cup between their legs. Therefore, in my opinion, it is her own fault she got burned. Accidents do happen, and it was quick reflexes that your father had to save that child from being seriously hurt, but in the McDonald's case that was not a "real" accident. That was lack of common sense on the woman's part. If a person runs a stop sign and hits another car, was that an "accident"? Nope, it was negligence on the part of the person who ran the stop sign. Follow the laws and use common sense and true accidents will be very rare.
April 13th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Ummmmmmm...................this story needs to be sent to the yahoos in NC.........................."His wife also was charged with making a false report to a police officer — for allegedly saying she was raped"
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
[...] years in prison. I covered this case in March 2007 after the grand jury indictment. In my blog post Stop the Presses--a Woman Is Held Accountable for Making a False Accusation I [...]