Life in a Box

I recently posted that wins and losses are relative. What might be a win for one client is a loss for another. It all depends on the individual client and the individual case. So when does the spending the rest of your life in a box with no possibility of every getting out alive a win? When you're a convicted cop killer.

Last week, Stephen Lance Heard was convicted by a jury in Criminal District Court Number 3 here in Tarrant County for the killing of Fort Worth Police Officer Hank Nava. Officer Nava had been attempting execute a parole violation warrant on Mr. Heard when the shootout took place. Officer Nava died two days later from wounds inflicted by Mr. Heard.

The trial lasted over three weeks. It was the quintessential Texas Death Penalty trial. Not only were the facts troubling and the consequences enormous, but the players came to play. I talked about my quick trip to Cooperstown a couple of weeks ago when I stopped in to watch some of the trial. Defense attorneys Mark Daniel and Tim Moore did a terrific job. The prosecutors, Alan Levy, Betty Arvin and Miles Brissette were good too. But Mark and Tim were methodical. They were deliberate. They were respectful, but they were aggressive.

I was lucky enough to have been able to stop in several times and watch parts of the trial. Some of it, as you can imagine, was extremely emotional. Some of it boring. But in the end, I'm sure Mark and Tim are satisfied with the job they did.

Mr. Heard will spend the rest of his life in a prison cell with no possibility for parole because the jury agreed with Mark and Tim that the death penalty should not be imposed. Not every case is the same. Not every client is the same. I don't have a single client that would consider spending the rest of their life in prison a win. I think Mr. Heard does.