College crime felt non-existent when I went school

I think my college life was a bit of a Utopian experience. In the late 1990s, I went to a very small religious college just outside of St. Louis.

Hearing about the college crimes that affect metro-area students in Houston makes me feel lucky that crime wasn't an issue for us.

Principia College had about 500 students when I was there. Our doors didn't lock. There wasn't a need. Theft wasn't a problem. A sex offense was very, very uncommon. I don’t even recall it ever happening during my time there.

What a different life than what students at major universities and colleges in the Houston area experience.

I invite you to watch our campus crime story tonight. We’ll rank the top five colleges with the highest crime rates. (We looked at only the most serious crimes reported in federal law.) The story I did with producer Lauren Sweeney airs Monday on Local 2 at 10.

Viewers deserve the facts so they can make up their own minds

Tonight I reported on many issues of the DuPont chemical spill near La Porte, Texas where four people died. In my report I included details about past incidents at the facility and another of the company's facilities.

This prompted a viewer to comment the following:

cuervooro • 42 minutes agoWhat is the deal with previous violations? I'm sure the news media has previous violations that have or could have caused injury to people in the surrounding area. Are we looking for something to make a news story with? Isn't the news media happy that something dreadful has occurred and killed people so that they don't have to make up news stories.

I enjoy sharing our thought process when it comes to selecting stories. Here is my reply:

Jace Larson KPRC  cuervooro • 7 minutes ago

I can assure you, I'm not happy with the fact four people died. I feel terribly for their families and loved ones.

As an investigative reporter, sometimes past company action is important. If you don't believe that, that's your prerogative. I think it's always important to look at what has happened previously because it can, in some cases, show a pattern. Maybe it shows other things.

I'm a firm believer in giving viewers all the facts. I don't want to be the one saying, in my opinion this incident was important and this one wasn't, so I'm going to withhold information. I think it's important to put the facts out there and let viewers make the decision. I'll let them decide what's important.

I don't agree that we made up any story here. That's a pretty strong allegation to make against someone whose work is based on honesty and accuracy.

Please don't let my honest response here make you think I don't appreciate you sharing your point of view. It's important that viewers do so. For that, I thank you.

What do you think?

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I love it when @KPRCLocal2 viewers make me laugh.

Every once in a while, viewers make me laugh with their witty comments.

I’ve decided to start sharing them.

Earlier today, I postponed my weekend camping trip. Camping is fun, but camping in the rain is not. Randall’s reply to my ‘canceled camping tweet’ is a funny one.

@jacelarson One time the Wi-Fi at the Ritz Carlton went down for half an hour ... that's as close to camping as I want to get 😉
— Randall W Brelsford (@JetSetPsyD) November 14, 2014

One of the most fascinating interviews I've done airs Tuesday at 10pm. @KPRCLocal2

I’m lucky enough to interview people from all walks of life. Until recently, I’d never interviewed someone who has witnessed nearly 280 executions.

An article in the publication Texas Monthly piqued the interest of one of our investigative producers.

When she explained that a former spokeswoman for the prison system was willing to talk about her job, which required she watch the executions, I knew we should make an effort to talk with this person.

I drove with a photographer on Halloween day to Michelle Lyon’s home near Huntsville and interviewed her in her living room.

Put yourself in her shoes. How would you cope watching hundreds die legally? She answers that at 10pm. @KPRCLocal2 http://t.co/G0bEjNND7E
— Jace Larson KPRC (@jacelarson) November 5, 2014

She was open with details. I suppose the topic of executions is interesting to most people. Hearing first-hand details from someone with a unique perspective was fascinating.

What added another level of interest for me was how Lyons described not being affected by the first several dozen executions she witnessed. It wasn't until after she left her position with the state that she realized she had been affected in a big way.

I invite you to watch her interview Tuesday night at 10 p.m. A few people in the newsroom have watched clips as we go through the edit process. They are captivated just as I was.