[Clipping: Judge apologizes, won't quit: Hampton regrets 'choice of words,' but stands by sentence] Part: 3 of 4
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JUDGE
bm A- I
4- ..-l
e Dallas Gay Alliance, who was
aso angry that Hampton did not
address his apology to the gay
community. "He has cast a rea-
sonable doubt into the minds of
people across this nation about
Dallas justice. ... This question
:not be answered with a sim-
apology."
Z ampton, a Republican who
served in the 283rd District
Court since 1981, provoked na-
tional outrage after saying in an
interview with the Times Herald
one week ago that he sentenced
convicted murderer Richard Lee
Qdnarski to 30 years in prison,
her than the possible maxi-
m life term, in part because
rdnarski's victims were "queers
'euising the streets picking up
t~knage boys" and, therefore,
were "asking for trouble."
Bednarski, now 19, will be eli-
gible for parole in 7% years.
Hampton also said he believed
voters angered by his com-
aments would forget them by
X0, when he faces re-election.
"'Since then, the judge has en-
red a daily barrage of phone
Z als, letters and protests, the
Egest of which drew more than
;;_0O demonstrators Tuesday to
ty Hall Plaza, where local, state
-aWd national officeholders called
E his ouster.
similar onslaught prompted
state Commission on Judicial
.Mnduct to launch an investiga-
tn of Hampton's remarks. The
cnmission, which can initiate
ceedings to remove judges
m office, will hear the com-
.ints at its Jan. 13 meeting,
=ich Hampton said he has not
n asked to attend.
within days of the Times Her-ald report, a fellow Republican,
Dallas County Judge Lee Jack-
son, said he privately urged
Hampton to issue "an apology for
his injudicious language." Hamp-
ton's decision to do so attracted
representatives from wire servic-
es and at least two television net-
works scrambling to the court-
house to record his first public
statement in six days.
After apologizing, Hampton
said he now believes voter' will
remember his comment when
they go to the pcils. But he
hopes, he said, .l.e" also remem-
ber his "good record as a trial
judge," noting that his court has
fewer cases pending against
county jail inmates than any of
the 13 other felony courts and
that his performance as a judge
was praised by 91 percent of law-
yers responding to a 1987 Dallas
Bar Association poll.
"We work hard in this court,"
Hampton said. "I'm satisfied that
... the citizens of Dallas County,
if they had a chance to look at
my entire record, they'd be ex-
tremely happy with what I've
done."
Hampton said his comments to
the Times Herald were a "big
mistake," and that he did not in-
tend to imply that "any victim of
crime is entitled to less fair treat-
ment" or that he "condones vio-
lence." Critics have accused the
judge of "declaring open sea-
son'" on homosexuals by his
sentence for the crime, an execu-
tion by a Mesquite teenager
"gay-bashing" in Oak Lawn with
his friends.
"Everybody gets fair treatment
in my court," Hampton said.
In the Bednarski case, Hamp-
ton said, "I considered all the ev-
idence. ... I considered what the
victims were doing out there, but
not their lifestyle. I considered
the defendant and his youthful
age. ... I considered his strongfamily and the fact that he had
no prior criminal record. .. . I
considered the arguments of the
lawyers ... and the pre-sentence
interview that my own probation
officers prepared.
"There's no two murder cases
alike. Mr. Bednarski did not get
the minimum nor did he get the
maximum."
When pressed to explain the
difference between the behavior
and the lifestyle of Bednarski's
victims, Hampton said, "What
they were doing when they were
picking up Bednarski and his
friend in the park is different
from their lifestyle in their own
bedroom."
Testimony in the case did not
reveal whether the victims, Tom-
my Lee Trimble, 34, and John
Lloyd Griffin, 27, were soliciting
sex when they were fatally shot
May 15 at Reverchon Park, but
Hampton has said he assumed,
as did others involved in the
case, that they were.
Hampton said he "had been
thinking about what I should do
for a week." Recognizing the
stress the situation was placing
on his family, he said, "I felt like
I had to put it to rest before
Christmas."
"The outcry's been so bad, I
thought it would go away," he
said. "But it [became] obvious it
wasn't going to go away until I
said something."
Critics said Hampton's contri-
tion might not be enough.
"I think it's kind of late," said
the Rev. Howard Tyas of Betha-
ny Presbyterian Church, who
Wednesday joined other Oak
Lawn ministers to ask Hampton
to "repudiate" his remarks. "It
sounds -like damage control, not a
change of heart."
Kelly Seymore and Debra Whitney Reecer
of the Times Herald staff contributed to
this report._. _,
I
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Montgomery, Lori. [Clipping: Judge apologizes, won't quit: Hampton regrets 'choice of words,' but stands by sentence], clipping, December 23, 1988; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1584081/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.