The Honorable Judge William Wayne Justice has died. He passed away last Tuesday in Austin at the age of 89. Appointed by President Johnson in 1968, he presided over some of the most important and high-profile cases of the last 40 years.
Former Lt. Governor Bill Hobby said of Justice, "Judge Justice dragged Texas into the 20th century, God bless him. He was very unpopular, but he was doing the right thing."
Judge Justice said in his own autobiography, "I'm basically a very shy, retiring person, but fate has put me in a situation where I've been in the midst of controversy." Fortunately for us, the judge was equal to the immense tasks demanded of him.
April Castro of the Associated Press is right when she says his rulings "shattered old Texas by changing the way the state educated children, treated prisoners, and housed its poorest and most vulnerable citizens."
Judge Justice was not afraid to stand alone and do the right thing. Modern politicians of both parties could learn by his example. He has been, and will always be a hero to me.
Judge Justice was a humanitarian as much as he was a judge. I dare say he was about as close to being Christ-like as any professing Christian claims to be. He reached down into the bowels of hell and gave a human face to those men and women who suffered under the most brutal prison system in America. May he rest in peace. Unfortunately, much of what he accomplished in cleaning up TDCJ is being methodically dismantled.
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