A Literal Swarm of Poster Children for
Soft on Crime Agenda
Yikes, the mass commutation/parole done last week is a treasure trove of stories on bleeding heart liberals setting free criminals with zero care for justice. Case in point, Tondalao Hall, actually named Tondalo Rochelle Hall, who pled guilty to four counts of child abuse and neglect in 2006. If you read the Oklahoma article one of the children had nine broken ribs and a broken thigh and the three month old child had a broken thigh and toe.
Tondalo did indeed serve 13 years of a 30 year sentence, which is unusual so the abuse and neglect must have been horrendous. Her boy friend Robert Braxton Jr., who was later convicted of drug possession walked free on a suspended sentence after serving about two years in jail awaiting trial. Supposedly the boyfriend did the abusing but the eight counts were equally split between the two in the case. There was a delay in the prosecution and investigation due to the need to confer with doctors so the children were either abused badly or neglected and in poor health.
The ACLU had gotten involved over the failure to protect laws, laws that punish women harshly for allowing their kids to be abused or sexually abused. Paying attention Mrs. Hanning?
In a weird twist, Oklahoma County D.A. Wrote a letter referencing the case and Hall's testimony that appears to question the validity of Hall's testimony and truthfulness, yet Prater recommended commutation, likely to the fairly long time spent in prison when most are out in one fifth to one quarter of the sentence.
Hall appeared to have been around 20 years old at the time of the conviction with an 18 month old and a four months old child. Meaning she likely had just one child at the time when she was charged in late 2004. Nearly two years went by with Hall apparently out on bond before both she pled guilty to the charges. Her boyfriend Braxton asked for a jury trial which was set for late 2006.
On the third day of trial though Braxton hears testimony that he and his attorney don't like and Braxton drops his right to trial and pleads guilty to two of the four counts of child abuse and neglect. He is sentenced to two ten year suspended sentences, served concurrently, and with the time served in jail awaiting trial he is released and ordered to pay court costs.
Hall is sentenced later that same month, multiple 15 year sentences, served concurrently, for a total of 30 years. Now normally this means six to eight years in prison, one wonders why two of the four sentences were stacked.
After the trial Hall withdraws her guilty plea and appeals the sentence. Buyers remorse I guess after seeing her boyfriend get off with far less. The ACLU gets involved and tries to recuse the judge and fails along with the post conviction relief filing.
Braxton for his part appears not to have paid a dime on his court costs and a warrant was issued for his arrest in 2015. After being arrested and promising to pay, Braxton pays a couple of times before another arrest warrant is issued for non payment. His time outside was short as he was arrested again in 2008 for the possession of cocaine base. He pleads guilty to another ten year suspended sentence, appears to refuse to pay the $30.00 a month ordered, and finally by 2015 an arrest warrant is out for his arrest for non payment.
Braxton is back in jail by 2010 on weed and driving under suspension charges, which he goes through the dance of non payment, arrested, and back to paying. As of September of this year Braxton was still paying on that case so perhaps the court is allowing him to stay free as long as he is paying on one of his set of court fines and fees.
You have to wonder what all went on with these kids. It had to be horrific to earn 30 years in prison. And you wonder if perhaps the kids survived simply because momma was in prison.... as a poster child for soft on crime this one is a head scratcher, there are far worse cases that were released.
