State & Local
Page 2
The Battalion
Thursday, October8,1!
DWI bill to offer easier sentences Richards to review
By ROBIN GOODPASTER
Reporter of THE BATTALION
House Bill 93, passed by the
Texas Legislature last session, has
some people concerned criminals
may be getting away with lighter
punishments.
The bill contains an amend
ment to the Texas Code of Crimi
nal Procedure which gives judges
the power to allow drunk drivers
on probation to receive credit for
jail time by performing communi
ty service.
Since 1983, DWI offenders who
were given probation for addi
tional violations were required to
spend at least three days in jail for
a second offense and 10 days in
jail for a third offense.
Mothers Against Driving
Drunk officials said the change
will undermine their efforts to put
DWI offenders behind bars. How
ever, Kirk Brown, the state chair
person for Mothers Against
Drunk Drivers (MADD) said that
House approves amendment allowing
community service to replace jail time
both rehabilitation and jail time
are necessary.
"Rehabilitation does not work
unless they admit they have a
problem," Brown said.
"The earlier we can get these
people's attention, the better. I be
lieve that going to jail wakes peo
ple up. This should show them
that we are serious about it."
"Eighty percent of automobile
accidents caused by drunk drivers
are caused by first offenders," he
said. "We are certainly opposed to
the more lenient laws. We realize
that the jails are full, but drunk
people do kill people."
State Senator Jim Turner said
that the section of the bill pertain
ing to community service in lieu
of jail time was not aimed at set
ting DWI offenders free without
punishment.
Rather, it gives Texas judges
the option of deferred adjudica
tion to keep the jails becoming too
crowded.
"It presents an interesting is
sue," he said. "The slate spends
hundreds of thousands of dollars
to try to punish and rehabilitate
criminals at a less cost and a more
effective manner than in the
prison system.
"With the constraints place
upon prison systems there is not
meaningful punishment for many
offenders. If we can design a
work program for a nonviolent of
fender, it would help the over
crowding problem."
Michael F. O'Connor, a Bryan
attorney who handles DWI cases,
said that it depends on the indi
vidual as to whether jail time or
rehabilitation is more effective.
"Even before House Bill 93,
judges had discretion for punish
ment," O'Connor said.
"Second, third or 15th time
DWI offenders know what they
are supposed to do and not sup
posed to do. If they don't take a
breathalizer or are videotaped
while they are inebriated, the state
does not have much of a case.
And rather than let them go with
no punishment, the state is willing
to charge a lesser penalty so that
some type of punishment is en
forced — such as community ser
vice."
Opponents of the legislation
said that the portion of the bill
concerning community service in
stead of jail sentences was written
in fine print, and they were un
aware of it until after the bill had
passed.
"We did not even know it was
in there, as most legislatures did
not know it was in there," Brown
said. "I think that they may be
embarrassed about the legislation,
and we are trying to embarrass
them into changing it."
school finance plan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — Gov. Ann Richards
said Wednesday she plans to call
lawmakers into a lame-duck spe
cial session next month to debate
a school finance plan being read
ied by her, Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock
and outgoing House Speaker Gib
Lewis.
"I expect us to present a uni
fied plan/' she said. "Are we go
ing to be successful? I can't tell
you that. I don't know. We're go
ing to try very hard."
Richards said she probably
would convene the Legislature
the second week of November, af
ter the Nov. 3 election, and limit
its agenda to the thorny school fi
nance problem.
"We want to give the members
an opportunity to discuss it and
discuss it in depth," she said.
The Texas Supreme Courlii
peatedly has struck down sdw
finance plans, saying the sysla
wasn't equitable to poordistricls
The issue has been one oftl
most bitter and divisive for leg
lators since the late 1980s.
At least three dozen of thecii
rent House and Senate memlw
including the House speakers
lame ducks.
They won't be retumingfori
1993 Legislature because of refe
ments or primary election defeaS
But Richards said she wants!
debate school finance in Novel
ber rather than waiting until ft
regular session opens inearlyjat
uary with the new lawmakers,
She said that is becauseftt
proposal will include a conslits
tional amendment thatneedsit
go to voters before thejunel
1993 court deadline for action,
Sleeping pill causes violent actions, attorney says
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — Popular sleeping pill Hal-
cion prompted a former police official to
become violent and kill his best friend,
the attorney for the officer said Wednes
day as a civil lawsuit over the drug
opened.
William R. Freeman, formerly assistant
chief of the Fort Stockton police depart
ment, is serving a life prison term for
Donnie Hazelwood's 1987 slaying.
But Freeman would not be there were
it not for the drug, his attorney told ju
rors.
The case is the first involving Halcion
to go to trial against Upjohn Co.
"I am convinced that when the evi
dence is in, you will consider that Mr.
Freeman's family deserves to be compen
sated for the pain, humiliation and
tragedy inflicted on them by this drug,"
attorney Randy Johnston of Dallas said in
his opening statement.
Freeman, his wife and four children
filed the $5.5 million lawsuit against the
Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company in
1989, the same year the former officer was
sentenced to prison.
"I know that all of us want desperately
to believe that the drugs we take are safe,
and that when our doctors give us some
thing, we should take it," said Johnston.
"But we will prove to you that Upjohn is
a corporate crook that lied to the FDA
(Food and Drug Administration) to get
this drug approved."
An attorney for Upjohn said that Hal
cion didn't come up before jurors in Free
man's criminal trial.
"They convicted him of murder and
sentenced him to life in prison," said at
torney Richard L. Josephson of Dallas,
representing Upjohn. "We are here to
undo what another jury did and award
an substantial amount of money to a mur
derer."
Josephson said a psychiatrist who ex
amined Freeman determined he was com
petent to stand trial. Freeman, rather be
ing victimized by Halcion, abused other
drugs along with alcohol, the attorney
said.
Johnston said that Freeman began
drinking and taking drugs after injuring
his back while on police duty in 1984.
That injury required surgery.
"The man was in pain, disabled from
his job and he drank," Johnston told the
11-member jury, adding that Freeman re
ceived Halcion for more than two years
as a result of his injuries.
But now, the FDA will not allow pa
tients to take even half the Halcion
dosage that Freeman was prescribed by a
Dallas doctor and two others, Johnston
said.
The drug caused Freeman to become
paranoid, lose his memory and behave
abnormally before shooting Hazelwood
in the head, according to a document filed
in the lawsuit.
The product liability and negligent!
case contends Upjohn failed toprovitl!
adequate warnings for Halcion andfaild
to inform Freeman and his doctorso!
dangerous side effects.
Dozens of other cases pending nato
wide against Upjohn also contend lie
drug causes side effects suchasdepre-
sion, anxiety, insomnia and aggressici
that could lead to violence.
Halcion, known by the generic nait
triazolam, has been reviewed by theH
several times since it was approvedfu
use in the United States in 1982. It haste
come the world's most widely prescrM
sleeping pill and is marketed inmott
than 90 countries.
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^ CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C.
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The Battalion
ATLANTIS TILLMAN, Editor in Chief
STEVE O’BRIEN, Managing Editor
JASON LOUGHMAN, Opinion Editor GARY CARROLL, City Editor
MEREDITH HARRISON, News Editor J. DOUGLAS FOSTER, Sports
HEIDI SAUER, News Editor Editor
TODD BLACKMON, Arts & Entertainment CHRIS WHITLEY, Sports Editor
Editor RICHARD S. JAMES, Photo Editor
Staff Members
Reporters — Melody Dunne, Mark Evans, Todd Stone, Brandi Jordan, Cheryl Heller, Tanya
Sasser, Robin Goodpaster, Juli Phillips, Tanya Williams, Julie Chelkowski, Monique
Lunsford, Mack Harrision, and Will Healy.
News desk — Kyle Burnett, Tracia Newbold, Jennifer Mentlik, David Thomas, Lance
Holmes, Lauri Reysa and Jennifer Smith.
Photographers — Danin Hill, Jenny Matlack, Randy Nichols, Sandra Alvarado, Billy Moran,
Jennifer Lockard, Ricardo S. Garcia and Robert Reed.
Lifestyles writers — Susan Owen, Anas Ben-Musa, Tricia Martinez and Julie Polston.
Sports writers— K. Lee Davis, Michael Plumer, Don Norwood and Ruly Medrano.
Columnists — Anthony LoBaido, Stacy Feducia, Dwayne Purvis, Shawn Ralston, Matt
Dickerson, Robert Vasquez, and Toni Garrard.
Cartoonists — William Harrison, Thomas Deeney, George Nasr, and Clay Welch.
Clerks — Darra Dees, Pejcharat Harvey, Shelley Rowton and Jamie Anderson.
The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and
spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except
University holidays and exam periods), at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid
at College Station, TX 77840.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building,
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News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in
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Do you want to spend Spring Break ’93
in Rome, Venice, Snook, or College Station?
Need some help making your decision?
Come talk to some students who chose Rome and
Venice last year and then decide.
Thursday, October 8, 1992
4-6 p.m.
Room 410 Rudder
Students who participated in the Spring '92 TAMU Italian
Semester program will be present to share their experiences and
their scrapbooks.
Learn how you can spend your Spring Break in Rome or Venice.
For more information, contact the
Study Abroad Program Office,
161 Bizzell Hall West, 845-0544.
P.S. If you can't make it, don't stress out! Check out Overseas Day instead! Visit
the main hallway of the MSC on the same day from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and you'll be
able to talk with some of the same students who are going to be in Room 410
Rudder from 4-6.
Two Hours
of Great Comedy
Just For You!
TONIGHT!
Take a Break Laugh a Little
Come to Garfield’s Thursday Nite Live and
enjoy the best two hours of comedy with
Mike Vance and Jeff Hodge
Tickets are $5 at the door
Show starts at 9:00 p.m.
J ^RESTAURANT* ' j
Students get 10 % OFF breakfast, lunch and
| dinner with student I.D. |
Checks accepted with proper I.D j
1503 S. Texas * Culpepper Plaza * 693-1736
Free LSAT
Preview!
The Princeton Review and the MSC MBA/Lan
Committee invite you to spend 90 minutes learning
about the LSAT.
Bra
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We will discuss what the LSAT really measures and how law schoolsik
your LSAT score. We will teach you how the test writers think and how)®
can use this knowledge to your advantage. In just 90 minutes, you willli
enough about the LSAT to begin adding points to your score!
Tliesday, October 13th
8:00 pm Rm 501 Rudder
Call 696-9099 to reserve your space!
THE
PRINCETON
REVIEW
We Score More!
Neither ETS nor ftinccton Univ. affiliated with The Princeton Review
Loca
Spring ’93
This time don’t be left
in College Station.
Find out more at
OVERSEAS DAY
Oct. 8 10:00 -2:00 p.m.
MSC Main Hall
Or come by the Study Abroad Program Office
161 Bizzell Hall West 845-0544
/