So releasing prisoners is now going to somehow make us better off?
Earlier this week, the Czar discussed the disturbing story of a murder suspect being released on a PR bond by Judge DeSean Jones.
And now Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo wants more criminals released.
The Houston Chronicle reports:
By the time the jail reported its first staffer with COVID-19, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo had spent days working on an executive order that would allow broad-scale compassionate releases of medically vulnerable, nonviolent inmates. But the effort has been complicated by an opinion from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, indicating to local officials the state may try to intervene...
The county executive order would have allowed eligible elderly and medically fragile people awaiting trial on nonviolent charges to be freed to await trial on bond...
The sheriff’s office estimated that about 500 inmates are potential candidates for release under the order because they face nonviolent charges and are especially at risk due to their age or pre-existing medical conditions, Spencer said.
However, HPD is not on-board with the plan.
In an interview with ABC13,Chief Art Acevedo says they are against any sweep order. He says:
“it has to be case-by-case. It has to be well thought out. There has to be a plan on where they're going to go.And, quite frankly, we have to have transparency. I've asked the sheriff to let the Houston Police Department and all departments know who's being released. What they were being held for. What their criminal history is before they go back into the community."
He says he's concerned about the habitual offenders who could be released.