Self-Organizing Man

Awhile back I pondered Terry’s situation and had, periodically, googled him to follow his case. Well, a reader emailed me yesterday with the following news story.

As an aside, I’m delighted the judge has ordered that Terry’s hormones be continued. As to whether the warden will follow the order, is another matter entirely. Too, I wonder if he plead guilty to avoid the possibility of the death sentence, since Texas loves to work its electrical magic on death row inmates. In the comments section of the above post, folks close to Terry keep writing that we don’t know the whole story, that we are judging him.

I do think it is possible to hold a person accountable for their actions without judging them in any Christian sense.

Husband gets 40 years in woman’s slaying

He admitted killing his wife in North Austin home last year; he’ll be sent to a women’s prison.

By Steven Kreytak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Terry Michael Dalton, who admitted to strangling his wife in their Central Austin home last year, was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison. Dalton, 47, pleaded guilty earlier this month to murdering Laura McIntosh, 49. The pair had been married for just over a year and had had a stormy relationship, according to court records and friends. He will be eligible for parole after serving half of his sentence.

Before state District Judge Julie Kocurek pronounced the sentence, the result of a plea bargain, Dalton apologized to his family and friends. He also apologized to McIntosh’s 25-year-old son for "what you may have experienced in the last year and a half."

Later, Ian McIntosh, who flew to Austin from Los Angeles for the hearing, addressed Dalton.

"I can’t accept your apology," he said. "My mother always told me that ’sorry’ doesn’t cut it."

Dalton, who has lived as a man for years, is anatomically a woman. While in jail awaiting trial, Dalton was housed with women. A Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman said that in prison, Dalton would also be placed with women.

In a motion, Dalton’s lawyer wrote that Dalton has taken testosterone since 1998 and "needs to take testosterone in order to maintain his transgendered status." Kocurek ordered the jail to administer the testosterone, prosecutor Allison Wetzel said.

On the night that McIntosh died in March 2005, police were called to the home near Airport Boulevard and 49th Street after a neighbor heard a woman screaming, a police affidavit said. Officers spoke briefly to Dalton and left.

The next day, Dalton went to visit two friends and told them that he had killed McIntosh, the affidavit said.

Ian McIntosh said his mother’s dream was to have grandchildren. "That’s not going to happen," he said.

"You took something that’s so important to me," he said. "I don’t know what I wish for you, but there’s nothing positive in it."

When court adjourned, Dalton’s parents walked up to Ian McIntosh and told him that they were sorry.

skreytak@statesman.com; 912-2946