Posted on 02/15/2016 9:36:27 AM PST by FR_addict
... I was reporting from a candidate forum in neighboring Brewster County. Officials from all three counties were in attendance. David Beebe, the justice of the peace for Precinct 1 in Presidio County, was there, too. Shortly after 1 p.m., he received a request to handle an inquest for "a dead body" back in his county.
The call came from Juanita Bishop, the justice of the peace for Precinct 2, who is nominally closer, but she was at a work-related event more than 120 miles away in Fort Stockton.
Beebe responded he was also far away, too, busy at the political forum. The deceased wasn't identified. Bishop said she would find an alternate. In this border county, sometimes the dead body is an undocumented migrant. Identification can take weeks; death can wait.
Bishop contacted the third choice, Presidio County Judge Cinderella Guevara, who was also unable to make the drive to Cibolo Creek Ranch. Connecting with the county sheriff there, she officially handled the inquest - over the phone - pronouncing Justice Scalia dead just before 2 p.m. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedures allows justices of the peace to pronounce death via phone when deemed reasonable.
It wasn't until after 3 p.m. that the news started to make its way to the local officials at the candidates forum. Phones lit up. People stopped paying attention to the debate on the stage. I was sitting near Judge Beebe, and we rushed out of the school auditorium together. We drove straight to the only funeral home in the area, in Alpine - where there was no answer at the door. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at marfapublicradio.org ...
Why are you putting out a stupid scenario? If he was murdered, it wasn’t by an assignation team.
An autopsy is used to determine the cause of death and rule out foul play. In this case, the justices contacted weren’t even told that it was Justice Scalia.
Why are you putting out a stupid scenario? If he was murdered, it wasn’t by an assassination team.
An autopsy is used to determine the cause of death and rule out foul play. In this case, the justices contacted weren’t even told that it was Justice Scalia.
Roger that. Terrible loss for our side and the nation.
I’ve had many family members take the long slow painful road to the finish line. Scalia’s path seems ok to me.
In any event, God rest his soul.
You’ll enjoy this sir.
“Texas. Texas is a complicated state to research in a study of this sort (a study of medical examiner systems) because of its large number of counties (254) and the fact that the officiator of death in all but the 12 largest counties (where there are medical examiner systems) is an elected judicial official known as the Justice of the Peace. Half of Texas’ ca. 18,000,000 population lives in the twelve largest counties, the other half in the other 242 counties. Officially, the Justice of the Peace (JP) is a full time occupation because s/he is “on call” 24 hours a day, but in some counties a JP serves for $1.00 per year and others serve for very small salaries (hardly a living wage). This means that these JPs are either “retired” or work at some other occupation. Being a licensed mortician is not a restriction to serving as a JP, and is it known that about six that are practicing morticians do serve as JPs in certain places, but this figure has not been specifically compiled in this very large state which employs some 857 JPs, including three in a county of less than 500 in population.”
> First, a death is a death. He wasn’t more important.
The death of most citizens does not have national implications. The death of a Justice of the Supreme Court does have national implications.
I remember the drive from Ft. Bliss to Ft. Hood across west Texas. It proved the song, “There’s miles and miles and miles and miles of Texas” is very true. It was/is so desolate that I didn’t even pick up a radio station for a couple of hours.
I don’t like long, lonely roads. Always worried something might happen to my car and who knows what next.
Agreed. Glad that this nice Christian Catholic man dies where and how he did. He went to heaven out on that ranch, and then died and went to heaven, peacefully in his sleep. Sounds like there was no security, no carping clerks, no politicians, no journalists, no nutty protesters chanting somewhere nearby.
Glad he didn’t take his last breath in the DC cesspool. Went to west Texas, saw a great sunset, had a steak, went to bed early and didn’t wake up.
He deserved such a happy ending.
” It was/is so desolate that I didn’t even pick up a radio station for a couple of hours”
That always amuses and scares people who have never seen it. Hit “seek” and it goes round and round the dial and never stops. And does so for a couple of hours. Just lucky I can sing so good I guess.
“The death of most citizens does not have national implications.”
If one death can take us down, we were circling the drain anyway.
Interstate 10 across west Texas is definitely LONG & LONELY. And if you see a gas station, stop at it and top off your gas tank “just in case.”
“Glad that this nice Christian Catholic man dies where and how he did. He went to heaven out on that ranch, and then died and went to heaven, peacefully in his sleep. Sounds like there was no security, no carping clerks, no politicians, no journalists, no nutty protesters chanting somewhere nearby.
Glad he didnât take his last breath in the DC cesspool. Went to west Texas, saw a great sunset, had a steak, went to bed early and didnât wake up.
He deserved such a happy ending.”
I would rather die around my family, not isolated in some resort hotel room. I would have loved to hold my mother’s hand as she past.
> take us down
No such thing was alleged.
His hands were folded in peaceful repose, the sheets weren’t rumpled and a pillow was on his head. FRiends, if I ever turn up like that, something is seriously amiss.
Amen.
I read that too.
Do you have the link handy?
It sounded like Poindexter described a body that was positioned.
“His hands were folded in peaceful repose, the sheets weren’t rumpled and a pillow was on his head. FRiends, if I ever turn up like that, something is seriously amiss.”
I have trouble catching my breath sometimes at night. My sheets get rumpled when it happens.
Also, who goes hunting on Valentine’s Day?
It sounds like it was scheduled at the last minute. Because Poindexter, the owner was scheduled to be at another event and cancelled because he had this hunting party at his resort.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Dies Near Marfa, Texas
http://marfapublicradio.org/
“At a film screening that night in Marfa, Jeannette Duer, a local judge laments Scaliaâs death, âA great conservative justice. Weâre sorry to hear that heâs passed.â
Tammy King organized the screening, where she was expecting to see John Poindexter, the owner of Cibolo Creek Ranch, until she was told about his hunt with Scalia. âRight now itâs actually a quail trip â a quail hunting trip â that theyâre having this weekend.â
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