ILL-ADVISED

Texas Judge Sorry for ‘Tree and Rope’ Comment About Suspect

About suspect in San Antonio cop-killing.

A Texas judge apologized on Wednesday for a Facebook comment in which he wrote "time for a tree and a rope" about a suspect—who is black—in a cop-killing earlier this week. The social-media commentary came after Otis Tyrone McKane was arrested in the shooting of San Antonio police Det. Benjamin Marconi. Burnet County Judge James Oakley apologized in a statement, noting that his suggestion to lynch McKane was "harsh." The Facebook comment has since been deleted. Oakley admitted it was "off the cuff" and "curt." He denied that it had anything to do with McKane's race. "To be clear, I advocate due process. I also support the death penalty in cases where the ultimate crime has been committed and there is clear and complete evidence and where all steps of the judicial process have been respected," Oakley wrote. "I would also point out that I am an administrative judge, and do not preside over criminal court."