Update: Another murder in Huntsville

"Today is not about George Rivas," said Toby Shook, the former Dallas County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Rivas and the others for Hawkins' death. "Today is about justice for Aubrey Hawkins and Aubrey's fellow police officers."

No. Today was not about justice for Aubrey Hawkins and law enforcement officers. Today was about revenge. It was about cold-blooded murder.

Killing George Rivas didn't magically bring Aubrey Hawkins back to life. Killing Mr. Rivas didn't suddenly make the job of a police officer any easier.

By all accounts, Mr. Rivas wasn't a particularly nice guy. He was serving some 17 life sentences for aggravate burglary and aggravated kidnapping at the time he planned his escape from the Connolly Prison south of San Antonio. Mr. Rivas wasn't going anywhere. He had nothing to lose by planning an escape.

Sentencing someone to 17 life sentences makes as little sense as murdering an inmate. There is no purpose. Had Mr. Rivas died on his own would Texas have put his body in refrigerated storage for another 16 lifetimes? Maybe an absurd number of life sentences is what it takes for a judge or a prosecutor to feel important.Maybe it makes for a great pick up line at the bar. I don't know.

Now the prosecutor can tell his prospective date that he killed a man. The judge who presided over the trial can campaign that he's tough on crime. The doctor who assisted the execution can look in the mirror and try to square what he did with the oath he took to do no harm.

No. There was no justice in Huntsville tonight. It was just another murder.