DeLay To Be Sentenced Today

Today's the day.   Last November Tom Delay, former Texas congressman and Republican power-broker, was convicted of violating Texas law.   A Travis County jury found him guilty of Money Laundering and of Conspiracy To Launder Money.   It is a violation of Texas law for a corporation to provide financial support for a candidates campaign, so DeLay took corporate money and funneled it through the national Republican organization and back to the campaign coffers of Republican candidates in Texas.

Today the sentencing hearing for the Republican criminal is to take place in an Austin courtroom.   He could get anything from probation to life in prison.   It is not known whether the sentence will be given today or not -- that depends on how much information and testimony the judge wants before he makes his decision.

Personally, I would like to see DeLay get a long prison sentence, but I think the odds are against it (and if he gets less than 10 years the odds are that he would be released on an appeal bond until the appeal is over).   If he gets more than 10 years, he would be incarcerated while he appeals the case.

It probably doesn't much matter what the judge does.   The case will be appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -- populated by Republicans -- and I figure they will probably overturn his conviction or reduce his sentence.   But I can still hope, and my hope is for a few years in prison at least (and that the Court of Appeals actually develops a conscience).   We'll see.

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UPDATE -- Judge Pat Priest has sentenced Tom DeLay to serve a prison sentence.   He gave DeLay a prison term of 3 years for the conspiracy charge, and an additional 5 years on the money laundering charge.   However, the 5 year sentence was to be probated for 10 years -- meaning he serves 10 years on probation and if he violates that probation he will go back to prison for 5 years.

DeLay was immediately taken into custody and transported to the Travis County Jail, but he is expected to be released as soon as an appeal bond can be posted.

I still don't expect DeLay to actually serve any time in prison (even though he deserves to do so).   Remember, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is loaded with Republicans.