Why was Ratcliff offered a plea bargain?
Special prosecutor accused of being soft on crime, but says plea was best for all
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Terry McDonald offered Michael Lewis Ratcliff a felony plea bargain because he said the agreement is vindication for all.
But critics of McDonald say he should have prosecuted Ratcliff publicly and in front of a jury.
If the visiting San Antonio judge accepts the plea, this high-profile case could end quietly.
The judge’s ruling is expected on Aug. 15.
What many didn’t expect was for McDonald, the San Antonio special prosecutor, to offer a plea for a charge that did not appear in the original indictments.
In October, a grand jury indicted Ratcliff, a former sheriff, on five counts – including aggravated sexual assault of a teenage boy and of criminal solicitation of a minor.
But McDonald offered Ratcliff an aggravated perjury plea on Thursday, and Ratcliff accepted it.
As part of the plea, Ratcliff admitted he lied under oath in October to grand jurors.
Ratcliff lied when he said he did not have sex with the accuser and that he did not make sexual advances toward him, according to the plea agreement.
McDonald said this forced felony admission equals justice.
“In a trial, it would have been a swearing match between (the accuser) and Ratcliff,” McDonald said after the hearing. “Ratcliff confessed to a felony.”
McDonald also said he offered the plea because the primary charge – aggravated sexual assault – is suspected of occurring in 1997. There is no physical evidence to support that charge, he said.
And because Ratcliff is a former sheriff who is in poor health, a jury would not likely convict, he suggested.
“He’s basically destitute,” McDonald said. “His car was repossessed.”
If visiting San Antonio District Judge Mark Luitjen accepts the plea agreement, Ratcliff would receive 10 years of deferred adjudication, a form of probation.
Ratcliff would also be restricted from visiting online chat rooms and pornographic Web sites. He is accused of luring his accuser to his home by posing online as a woman.
Some say this plea agreement doesn’t fit the alleged crimes.
David Fisher is an Austin-based legal consultant and researcher who follows courtroom cases statewide.
“The plea? It seems curious,” Fisher said. “You offer a plea of aggravated perjury in lieu of forcing him to admit he had sex with a minor? It doesn’t make sense that a prosecutor would offer this. Incredible.”
Fisher researched McDonald and found what he believes to be a suspect history. McDonald, a former San Antonio judge, is soft on crimes, Fisher suggests.
Fisher pointed to the National Catholic Reporter, a weekly religious and social justice publication.
In 1993, the publication noted criticism McDonald received for granting deferred adjudication to a man who accused of involvement in a gang-related murder.
A 1998 Wall Street Journal report called McDonald one of the country’s worst judges.
“He has a history of seeking the easy way out,” Fisher said. “This guy has a real disconnect with what a judge and a prosecutor’s responsibility is. It’s not to make things go away. It’s to do justice.”
After the hearing Thursday, Ratcliff’s accuser said McDonald told him that Victoria needed a break and that the plea was in the city’s best interest, Advocate reporter Bj Lewis reports.
If the accuser’s statement is true, Fisher said the plea is far from justice.
“He has an odd sense of what justice is – his own brand of justice,” Fisher said.
McDonald defended his criticisms.
“I don’t base my decisions on public opinion. I don’t think that’s the proper thing to do,” McDonald said. “As a judge, I took cases as they came.”
And to those who say he’s soft on punishments?
“The hardest part of being a judge was sentencing someone to prison,” McDonald said. “I’d rather have saved a life.”
As a judge, and now a prosecutor, McDonald has faced numerous rumors.
“You probably also heard the rumor that I hate homosexuals,” he said. “Well, this defendant is a homosexual, and he’s not going to prison.”
Jim Kopp, chief of the criminal division inside the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, said McDonald is a competent, ethical attorney.
“It’s not uncommon for people to take issue with judges,” Kopp said. “They’re either too tough or too lenient.”
Victoria County District Attorney Steve Tyler presented evidence to the grand jury that indicted Ratcliff.
Earlier this year, Tyler recused himself from prosecuting Ratcliff, his former chief of staff.
But Tyler knows the details of the case.
“I can’t stress enough that I’m not involved in this,” Tyler said. “As I remember, the Advocate’s editorial board and others were anxious that I don’t prosecute the case.”
Tyler would not second guess McDonald and others. He did, however, answer an important question: Is there enough evidence to convict Ratcliff?
“I think there’s always enough – when I indict – to get a conviction,” Tyler said.
Gabe Semenza is the Public Service Editor for the Advocate. Contact him at 361-580-6519 or gsemenza@vicad.com, or comment on this story at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.
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We will never know the wretched details if the judge accepts the plea. No way will he be asked to allecute to any crime other than the aggravated perjury. Did he molest this victim before the victim was 18? No one can say beyond a reasonable doubt.... however, many of us, myself included, believe the victim to be telling the truth. IMO, there is no reason why the judge would deny the plea. It was made by the prosecutor de jour. Historically, judges will stick by what the prosecutor recommends within reason....
July 9, 2008 at 11:24 a.m.I haven't lived in Victoria for a couple of years. But I grew up in the area and still have family there.
I know this has been said before, but it bears repeating.
Ratcliff is not a homosexual because of what he did to that young boy. I'm not even going to call him a pedophile. That is a word that doesn't do justice to what men like Ratcliff are. It sounds too clean.
He is a child predator. He preys on those weaker than him. He used his office to manipulate that boy using fear and intimidation.
People will say that he didn't plead guilty to those crimes. Others will say that the accuser never said anything until now (as McDonald has said). But I ask this...if you were 17 or 18 years old and had been raped by the man who was the sheriff of Victoria County...what would you have done?
What this is isn't justice. Not in any form imaginable. And if you look closely enough? Lady Justice has tears leaking out from beneath her blindfold because of this miscarriage of justice.
July 9, 2008 at 10:23 a.m.Ratcliff isn't a homosexual, he's a freak. Of course they offered him a plea bargain, they're crooked too! Lord knows what kind of dirt Ratcliff has on them. Probably a lot more freaks there than Ratcliff.
Also, Ratcliff is destitude? So what? Get him one of the same crappy court-appointed attorneys that the rest of we destitute people get when we have to go to court. Also, I'm curious, what exactly is wrong with him healthwise? Aids? LMAO FREE AIDS TESTS FOR EVERYONE! Ahhh, poetic justice, karma, whatever you want to call it...it feels good. Now I can only hope that I live to see all those other corrupt politians in Victoria get theirs.
July 9, 2008 at 1:56 a.m.I, too, would like to know how silentlamb is so sure Tyler "handpicked" McDonald. Just like I commented in another article on the same topic, silentlamb's accusations of "conspiracy" and "cover-up" are as much unfounded as those of David Smith.
July 5, 2008 at 5:31 p.m.In response to freethinker's question, let's do the Math, 1 "man" having SEX with 1 Boy = HOMOSEXUAL. Why is freethinker having such a hard time figuring that out ?
July 4, 2008 at 10:17 a.m."Old" TomC? LOL
Silentlamb...where are you getting your information that Tyler picked the special prosecutor? Everything I have heard and read said the judge picked him.
July 4, 2008 at 10:08 a.m.You are correct about who had the final decison old TomC BUT Tyler picked this louse of a prosecutor's to replace him.
July 4, 2008 at 10:01 a.m."Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it." William Pitt the Younger, The Earl of Chatham and British Prime Minister from 1766 to 1778.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton 1867
Good point, BooSter. It was also printed that sheriff deputies escorted the victim as well. Can't have pictures of him, though, since he was the victim.
I imagine that Sheriff O'Connor approved all of this. And let me remind everyone that there is no love lost between Ratcliff and O'Connor. So, if he approved it....why the big uproar? People just like to complain and nitpick, I guess.
July 4, 2008 at 9:57 a.m.I can't believe the constant criticism of the guy with the umbrella. What did he do wrong besides extending a kind hand (or umbrella) to a bum down on his luck. My mother raised me to hold the door open for others & to be polite to everyone, what's wrong with that?
July 4, 2008 at 9:47 a.m.Silentlamb...you asked "Let see, WHO was responsible for McDonald being asked to be the Prosecutor?!" The judge may have received recommendations, but...in the end....the judge asked McDonald to be the prosecutor. So, the judge is WHO was responsible.
July 4, 2008 at 9:18 a.m.TomC ... at WHO's recommendation?? You know.
July 4, 2008 at 9:03 a.m.Silentlamb....it was the judge who appointed the prosecutor after Tyler recused himself.
Darlins64...not sure if southtexasguy used the right term when he said "stalker". However, I believe he was referring to an individual who posted (then denied it) the type of automobile (and I'm not referring to the infamous red one) the Tyler family drove. It was an inappropriate post, and you are right...it has nothing to do with the topic at hand. So, hopefully, case closed.
July 4, 2008 at 8:45 a.m.What a lousy Prosecutor! Let see, WHO was responsible for McDonald being asked to be the Prosecutor?! What a deal.
July 4, 2008 at 8:31 a.m.southtexas guy, I too would like to know who this stalker is? And how do you know that person is a stalker? What does what vehicle the parties involved in this case have to do with anything?
I thought stalking was a punishable offense?
July 4, 2008 at 8:02 a.m.How does the guy know that Ratcliff is a homosexual? Being a pedophile does not always translate into being a homosexual. In fact, a big per centage are not homosexual. It's about power not sexuality. Plus Ratcliff was married to a women and seemed to have a girlfriend in the past. So at the least he would be bisexual.But sexuality does not have anything to do with being a pedophile. And what's with the guy with the umbrella?
July 4, 2008 at 7:54 a.m.I think it's sad that a pediophile got away with this. It's horrible. I feel very bad for the victim.
southtexas guy, who is the stalker? What do cars have anything to do with this story?
July 4, 2008 at 7:21 a.m.Perhaps now that the stalker is here we can find out what kind of cars everyone that was involved in yesterday's court case drives.
July 4, 2008 at 7:17 a.m.Am I the only one who noticed that Ratcliff is officially out of the closet now? McDonald remarked: "You've heard I'm tough on homosexuals. This defendant is a homosexual and he isn't going to prison".
That cat's outta the bag. And yeah, I'm really sorry that Ratcliff's car got repossessed.
July 4, 2008 at 7 a.m.It bother's the HELL out of me he lost his car big fucking deal.from the look's of it he was getting into a nice CADDY when he got out of court.
July 4, 2008 at 3:14 a.m."And because Ratcliff is a former sheriff who is in poor health, a jury would not likely convict, he suggested."“He’s basically destitute,” McDonald said. “His car was repossessed.”
July 4, 2008 at 1:11 a.m.Does this bother you? I mean, it has weighed heavily on my mind and I am wondering if this bothers others. Are we supposed to go "awwww" and forgive this man already? Well, Mr. Ratcliff, this is what happens when you go without pay. Your car gets reposessed. You're just lucky you don't have kids that you need to feed and buy clothes for. Other people have lost their jobs by your hand and the hand of your closest friends. Did you worry that their car might be reposessed? I'm sure you worried over that a good long time. If you had a guilt-free conscience you wouldn't be doing so poorly. You might be depressed but not near death by any means.