The Texas Attorney General’s Office has been tapped to prosecute the murder case against former Alief Coach David Temple in the 1999 death of his pregnant wife.
State District Judge Kelli Johnson appointed Lisa Tanner and Bill Turner, two lawyers with the AG’s office, as special prosecutors almost two weeks after Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg withdrew from the case because of potential conflicts of interest with her office.
Both Temple’s attorney and a spokesman for the victim’s family praised the choice.
“We’re thrilled beyond thrilled to have these prosecutors appointed,” said victims’ advocate Andy Kahan. “We couldn’t have asked for a better choice.”
He said he hopes they put Temple back in prison for the slaying of Belinda Lucas Temple, who was 8 months pregnant with the couple’s second child when she was killed in their home.
“We’re confident that at the end of the day, they’ll see things the way we’ve seen things since 1999,” he said.
Temple’s defense attorney, Stanley Schneider, likewise praised the choice.
“Lisa Tanner has been trying cases around the state for probably 30 years,” said attorney Stanley Schneider. “She always shows up prepared.”
Tanner and Turner will first have to decide if they are going to retry Temple, who maintains his innocence.
See here for the background. The decision about whether to proceed at all or not is the first big choice Tanner and Turner will have to make. At some point one side or the other isn’t going to be happy with them anymore, but at least for now no one is complaining about not getting a fair shake.