How many chances?

You probably all remember Dena Schlosser. She's the Collin County woman who cut off her baby's arms in 2004. She was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She spent the next four years in a mental institution, then she was released. This past March, she was found walking down a Richardson Street at 2 o'clock one morning. She has been sent to Terrell State Hospital, but for how long? How many more chances does she get?

William Autrey was out on bond after he masterminded a series of violent North Texas home invasions from 2005 to 2008. He formed a new gang and began all over again. In June 2008, he was arrested for impersonating an officer and trying to steal a safe. But he wasn't in custody long. Since last November, he robbed almost 2 dozen homes in the Dallas area stealing at least a million dollars in cash and valuables. All this while his probation officer was sure he was being electronically tracked via an ankle monitor. He was arrested April 17 in possession of a large amount of stolen property. At least for now, he's still locked up. How many more chances should he get?

Todd Henry, a high school teacher in Tyler, Texas, warned everyone he could think of that student Byron was a ticking time bomb -- that he was going to kill somebody. How sad that Todd Henry was the somebody he ended up killing. When Byron was 9 years old, he tried to stab his brother. And he stole a truck. When he was 13, he tried to choke a fellow student. At 14, he tried to kill his brother with a meat cleaver. A few months after that, he stabbed his sister in the back with a steak knife. In Texas Youth Commission custody, he fought prison guards and other inmates and hid razor shards in his cell. Released to go to public school, he had 21 suspensions in the 2006 fall semester. In spring 2007, he pled guilty to car burglary and received probation. He was subsequently arrested for smoking marijuana, but the juvenile jail deemed him too dangerous for them to hold him. And now Todd Henry is dead. How many more chances should Byron get?

Thomas Grady Layton pleaded guilty in 1991 to burglarizing homes. He had already been paroled in 1994 when he pleaded guity to marijuana delivery and received a 25-year sentence. He was paroled again in 2002. He helped arrange a drug deal outside a McDonald's last April 21. Even though he had nearly 6 grams of meth, a glass pipe and a digital scale, he wasn't charged with a drug violation. He was released. Five weeks later, he murdered his mother. How many more chances should he get?

Adam Theall was on probation for second-degree vehicular assault. He had been charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child. The police made numerous domestic dispute calls to his home. On June 22, someone called 911 saying Theall was going to kill his 3-month-old baby. When officers arrived and got out of the car, Theall killed the infant with a shotgun. He then fired on police. How many more chances should he get?

"Mother who killed baby no longer free." The Dallas Morning News; April 24, 2010; p. 1B.

"Free to rob again?" The Dallas Morning News; May 8, 2010; p. 1A.

"Dangerous teen shuffled from jail to clinics to class." The Dallas Morning News; May 30, 2010; p. 1A.


"Suspect freed after raid." The Dallas Morning News; June 15, 2010; p. 1B.

"Father kills baby in police standoff." The Dallas Morning News; June 23, 2010; p. 8A.