<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Staff Writer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS \u2014 A Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) supervisor, who allegedly identified herself as a parole supervisor online, is facing termination proceedings after allegedly posting a racially charged comment on social media regarding the conviction of Anthony Karmelo. Karmelo was convicted of murdering 17 year old Austin Metcalf at a high school track meet in Fresco, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The employee, identified as Donna Robinson, is a Program Supervisor II assigned to the Huntsville Release & Placement office. According to agency records, she began her employment with TDCJ on April 27, 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy stems from an online comment allegedly attributed to Robinson, in which she allegedly wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am a Parole Supervisor at TX DCJ. Karmelo will be ok \u2014 I can almost assure you he will be protected on the inside. I for one don\u2019t give a f*k about the family\u2019s loss. It\u2019s about time these [SLUR CENSORED] feel the pain they\u2019ve inflicted on other groups of people since the beginning of time. I\u2019m just glad we didn\u2019t have to bury another Black child. Let them start burying some of theirs for a change. F<\/em>\u2019em \u2014 I said what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comment post circulated widely, prompting public criticism and calls for disciplinary action. A copy of the comment posting was even posted to our social media page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response, TDCJ released a formal statement to media outlets emphasizing the agency\u2019s expectations for employee conduct:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Texas Department of Criminal Justice holds all employees to the highest standards of professionalism. TDCJ employment carries significant public trust and requires decisions free from personal bias. Following review of recent public statements by an individual identifying as a TDCJ Parole Supervisor, her employment has been terminated. These statements are incompatible with TDCJ policy and values. They demonstrate bias and a lack of the impartiality essential to the fair administration of justice in Texas. Discriminatory or inflammatory conduct that erodes public confidence in the criminal justice system will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the agency\u2019s public statement referencing termination, TDCJ employees are usually not immediately dismissed upon recommendation for removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under TDCJ Human Resource policy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is unknown if Robinson will pursue the agency\u2019s mediation and grievance process to attempt to remain employed with the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As standard practice, never assume profiles commenting are in fact that person, as online profiles are easy to clone. Investigations should always be conducted to establish online identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under Texas Penal Code \u00a7 33.07, creating a fake online account or profile using another person\u2019s name or persona without consent is a crime if done with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate, or threaten. The crime is a third-degree felony, punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Staff Writer HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS \u2014 A Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) supervisor, who allegedly identified herself as a parole supervisor online, is facing termination proceedings after allegedly posting a racially charged comment on social media regarding the conviction of Anthony Karmelo. Karmelo was convicted of murdering 17 year old Austin Metcalf at a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1385,"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1382\/revisions\/1385"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hvhappens.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n