1 day Ago By Sarah Grunau
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas and criminal justice organizations are asking state lawmakers to roll back bills that would keep people accused of violent crimes in jail before their cases move to trial. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott championed a package of bail reform legislation in Houston that would keep more people accused of certain crimes behind bars, setting back a centuries-old article of the Texas constitution that says almost all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties.
Abbott’s fast-track of bail bills represents crime victims’ recent demands for legislative changes, like Chuck Cook, whose 80-year-old mother was stabbed to death in a Walgreens parking lot in 2021 by a man he said was out on a personal recognizance bond at the time. “She was loving, caring and affectionate,” Cook said on Wednesday, flanked by Abbott and another bail reform proponent. Senate Joint Resolution 1 would restrict bail for undocumented immigrants charged with a felony.
The legislation, introduced by Houston Sen. Joan Huffman, is also called Jocelyn’s Law, referencing Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old Houston girl who was allegedly killed by two men who entered the country illegally from Venezuela. Texas Lt.
Gov. Dan Patrick first proposed bail reform legislation a week after Nungaray’s death last year. Senate Joint Resolution 5, a broad reform bill, would give judges even more authority to deny bail for defendants charged with certain violent crimes and sex crimes.
Senate Bill 9 adds more crimes, including family violence, stalking, harassment and terroristic threat charges, for which defendants would be prevented from receiving bail. Abbott has flagged bail reform bills as a priority in the 89th Legislative Session. However, opponents of sweeping bail reform bills say the legislation strips people of their constitutional rights and does little to improve public safety.
American Civil Liberties Union advocates on Wednesday said it would allow Texas judges to deny bail for more defendants based on vague standards, and deepen the state’s reliance on money bail that punishes poverty. “This is not bail reform,” Nick Hudson, a senior policy and advocacy strategist with the ACLU said. “It’s a rollback of our rights and Texans should not be fooled.
” Sarah Knight said her son, Jaleen Anderson, died at a private Louisiana correctional center last year. He was convicted of non-violent drug charges before he was transferred out of the Harris County Jail. After paying $7,000 to a bail bond company in Houston, 29-year-old Jaleen Anderson was released from jail on a non-violent drug charge.
But shortly after his release, he was charged twice more and eventually denied bail. Anderson was transferred to the Louisiana jail, where he died after suffering from several seizures. His family is leading a lawsuit against Harris County, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, LaSalle Corrections LLC and facility nurses who, attorneys said, failed to provide care to the man.
“I believe my son was railroaded by the system that is designed to fail us,” Sarah Knight said on Wednesday. RELATED: Harris County, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez sued by family of outsourced jail inmate who died in Louisiana facility Members of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association also called on state lawmakers to reject bail reform legislation. “What this legislation is going to do is it’s going to take individuals who are legally innocent,” attorney Brent Mayr said.
“It’s going to allow them to be locked up and denied bail only to sit in custody and possibly be one of these 40% that end up having their cases dropped after six months, after a year of sitting in jail.” Mayr said that violent crimes were only allegedly committed in 0.08 percent of cases where felony defendants were out on bond.
RELATED: Mayor Whitmire inflates number of accused murderers on Houston streets as lawmakers consider bond reform On Wednesday, Abbott said bail reform is “common-sense legislation.” “You pass this bill, pass this constitutional amendment, lives will literally be saved,” Abbott said at a press conference. “You fail to pass this, more people are going to be murdered.
This has to get done.”.
