Posted 12/19/2007 05:56:00 PM by Douglas

You might think that Texas law would require the minimum sentence issued to a person convicted of murder would include at least some prison time, but you'd be wrong

Traci Rhode spent two days in jail and will pay $10,000 for the crime of murder.

The jury that convicted the Fort Madison, Iowa, native of killing her husband in their Brownsville home four years ago also set her free Thursday, to the delight of her lawyer and the dismay of local prosecutors.

“I am ecstatic with the jury’s assessment of probation,” said her lawyer, Ernesto Gamez.

“It literally legitimizes and justifies their verdict because deep down inside they had a very tough decision to make.”

It took jurors two days to deliver their guilty verdict and another three days to sentence Rhode to 10 years supervised release. Judge Ben Euresti tacked on a $10,000 fine to her punishment and she was released from the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center within a few hours.

“(They waited) for two days before they came out with their guilty verdict because they were not sure,” Gamez suspects and called his client’s detention during deliberation “cruel and unusual.”

“Can you imagine the shock of being locked-up for two days in a 4-by-8 (foot cell) with cement walls in isolation? What a culture shock,” he said.

Can you imagine getting shot in the head by your own wife? Yeah, neither can her husband, cause he's dead. She killed. So said a jury of 12 of her peers.

She has maintained her innocence throughout the trial, claiming Scott Rhode shot himself in their bedroom while she showered after a morning walk.

The prosecutors counter that Traci awoke at about 5 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2003, and shot her husband with a .45-caliber handgun while he slept.

I doubt Brownsville is all CSI and shit, but they can't tell if the gunshot was self inflicted or not?

And a $10,000 fine? Shit, I figured a hit man would cost more than that. If that's all a wife gets these days, it's going to be open season on husbands around here.