Hampton Branch Library
Our Son Should Not Have to Spend 20 Years in Prison
RECEIVED Fri., Dec. 2, 2005
Dear Editor,
Two young men agreed to settle their differences in a way that went terribly wrong [“Justice or Vengeance?,” News, Nov. 4]. My heart aches for the parents of the son who lost his life. My heart aches as one of the parents of the other son who also lost his life. I am Brandon Threet's mom. I have no desire to add to the McArdle family's grief, and we continue to pray for them, but I cannot surrender my son's life to cold vengeance attempting to pass for justice. Brandon is not the person portrayed by the prosecutor who committed character assassination of my son in court. He is not mean, angry, or violent; he is just the opposite. In fact he has so many friends that during his trial they couldn't all fit in the courtroom; for five days they waited outside on the benches to be there for him. This shows his true character; four seconds of a video does not define my son. Those two lawyers do not define my son. They portrayed lies to the jury. If only our defense lawyer had introduced them to the real Brandon, this awesome young man who had no criminal record of any kind. His upbringing being: an A/B honor student, a Sunday school student, a hard worker and responsible young man. He is an awesome, bighearted, compassionate, caring, loving son, grandson, brother, nephew, and friend to many. He was a young man of tender age and through provocation, alcohol, and fear, reacted to a blow that he received at the onset of the fight. He felt the need to defend himself; he never meant to seriously hurt anyone. I cannot undo what happened that night; I wish to God I could. I wish to God someone could. Brandon will live with the events of that night every day for the rest of his life. He struggles daily with remorse and sadness. Brandon was not the only guilty party that night. Equally guilty are those who took another young man's life, my son's, this time through cold vengeance, political ambition, and client neglect. As compelling as the video is, there is much more to this story.
During a two-year investigation many facts have surfaced; we know that our son should not have to spend 20 years in prison. We only want the whole truth and the facts of the story to be heard. Brandon's father and I along with our family members are determined to put forth every possible effort to have the oversentencing and injustice done to our son corrected. Thank you to Kevin Brass and The Austin Chronicle for making our voices heard. Thank you to our family, friends, and many supporters that keep our son and our family strong, and for our legal team, investigator, and those continuing to work hard for Brandon, we are forever grateful.
Two young men agreed to settle their differences in a way that went terribly wrong [“Justice or Vengeance?,” News, Nov. 4]. My heart aches for the parents of the son who lost his life. My heart aches as one of the parents of the other son who also lost his life. I am Brandon Threet's mom. I have no desire to add to the McArdle family's grief, and we continue to pray for them, but I cannot surrender my son's life to cold vengeance attempting to pass for justice. Brandon is not the person portrayed by the prosecutor who committed character assassination of my son in court. He is not mean, angry, or violent; he is just the opposite. In fact he has so many friends that during his trial they couldn't all fit in the courtroom; for five days they waited outside on the benches to be there for him. This shows his true character; four seconds of a video does not define my son. Those two lawyers do not define my son. They portrayed lies to the jury. If only our defense lawyer had introduced them to the real Brandon, this awesome young man who had no criminal record of any kind. His upbringing being: an A/B honor student, a Sunday school student, a hard worker and responsible young man. He is an awesome, bighearted, compassionate, caring, loving son, grandson, brother, nephew, and friend to many. He was a young man of tender age and through provocation, alcohol, and fear, reacted to a blow that he received at the onset of the fight. He felt the need to defend himself; he never meant to seriously hurt anyone. I cannot undo what happened that night; I wish to God I could. I wish to God someone could. Brandon will live with the events of that night every day for the rest of his life. He struggles daily with remorse and sadness. Brandon was not the only guilty party that night. Equally guilty are those who took another young man's life, my son's, this time through cold vengeance, political ambition, and client neglect. As compelling as the video is, there is much more to this story.
During a two-year investigation many facts have surfaced; we know that our son should not have to spend 20 years in prison. We only want the whole truth and the facts of the story to be heard. Brandon's father and I along with our family members are determined to put forth every possible effort to have the oversentencing and injustice done to our son corrected. Thank you to Kevin Brass and The Austin Chronicle for making our voices heard. Thank you to our family, friends, and many supporters that keep our son and our family strong, and for our legal team, investigator, and those continuing to work hard for Brandon, we are forever grateful.
Sincerely,
LisaRhea Threet
LaPorte
LisaRhea Threet
LaPorte