Manslaughter? Aggravated assault? DWI? Give that man a state license, judge finds
Talk about casualty insurance. Mitchell Wade Ragland has a rap sheet for assault, aggravated assault, voluntary manslaughter and driving while intoxicated in Grayson County.
Now he wants to try his hand at the insurance business. Would Ragland be, like, a good neighbor? An administrative law judge this month said she thinks so. She recommended that Ragland should get a license as a property and casualty insurance adjuster.
Ragland's voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault arose when he was attacked by four individuals and stabbed several times, resulting in a collapsed lung, according to court documents. Although wounded, he retrieved his firearm from his truck and shot two of the people who attacked him, killing one of them. He was given probation for five years.
In most cases, a voluntary manslaughter conviction would warrant denial of an application. “His actions
were not those of a murderer but of someone presumably scared, certainly injured and dying, and trying to protect himself,” Administrative Law Judge Wendy K.L. Harvel wrote in her proposal for decision.
Ragland successfully completed his probation a number of years ago and has no further criminal record other than the 1998 guilty plea to misdemeanor DWI. “DWI is not a violent crime, and is not an indication that Mr. Ragland would behave inappropriately under stressful situations,” Harvel found.
The Texas Department of Insurance will still have final say in whether Ragland gets a license.
-- Darren Barbee
Now he wants to try his hand at the insurance business. Would Ragland be, like, a good neighbor? An administrative law judge this month said she thinks so. She recommended that Ragland should get a license as a property and casualty insurance adjuster.Ragland's voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault arose when he was attacked by four individuals and stabbed several times, resulting in a collapsed lung, according to court documents. Although wounded, he retrieved his firearm from his truck and shot two of the people who attacked him, killing one of them. He was given probation for five years.
In most cases, a voluntary manslaughter conviction would warrant denial of an application. “His actions
were not those of a murderer but of someone presumably scared, certainly injured and dying, and trying to protect himself,” Administrative Law Judge Wendy K.L. Harvel wrote in her proposal for decision.
Ragland successfully completed his probation a number of years ago and has no further criminal record other than the 1998 guilty plea to misdemeanor DWI. “DWI is not a violent crime, and is not an indication that Mr. Ragland would behave inappropriately under stressful situations,” Harvel found.
The Texas Department of Insurance will still have final say in whether Ragland gets a license.
-- Darren Barbee
