TEXAS, USA — Prison was never a possibility for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, said special prosecutor Brian Wice on a new episode of Y’all-itics, because the crime of which Paxton is accused is not violent, and the victims will finally be made whole with restitution.
“I have seen the so-called legal experts in my town – and remember what Mark Twain said about experts, it’s just some guy from out of town. They’re like, ‘This is a farce, it’s a mockery, an outrage because [Paxton] should be imprisoned, he should be at the Wynne Unit chopping rocks.’ The answer to your question is two words: Absolutely never. I never envisioned any scenario, any universe, in which, by which, through which that a judge or jury put Ken Paxton in prison,” Wice said.
Wice, the special prosecutor in the Ken Paxton criminal case for the last nine years, said he has been excoriated by people for agreeing to a deal with Paxton to drop the nine-year-old securities fraud charges this week, just before Paxton’s long-awaited trial was finally supposed to begin in a Harris County courtroom.
“People have very strong feelings about the attorney general but the time to have registered their monumental distaste for Ken Paxton isn’t by going to my Inbox -- but by going to the ballot box,” Wice explained. “Most folks don’t realize that a lion's share of all criminal cases that are ever filed, ever see the inside of a courtroom in front of a jury. It is not at all uncommon for cases to settle three weeks before trial, three days before trial, three hours – with the jury in the hallway.”
He's right. Many cases are settled before going to trial. This one, with such a high-profile defendant and the fact that it has lingered for so long, has captured the attention of many Texans.
Though the paperwork laying out the terms of the deal does not have to be made public under Texas law, Wice said Paxton has 18 months to pay $271,000 restitution to the victims in the case. He must also perform 100 hours of community service at a facility that Wice and Judge Silverman determine in Paxton’s home of Collin County—“likely a food pantry or soup kitchen,” Wice said.
Plus, Paxton is required to complete 15 hours of continuing legal education and ethics in a course sponsored by the State Bar of Texas.
In addition, Paxton must report to Wice and Judge Silverman via Zoom every 60 days.
When asked whether he has any regrets about his role as special prosecutor or the way this high-profile case played out, Wice said, “Look, there were a number of tactical decisions that I would certainly do differently—that I’m not going to get into. But this was about public service.”
The entire unedited conversation with Wice is on a special episode of Y’all-itics, available to download now.
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