No. of Recommendations: 10
I see news reports all the time about some savage attacking an innocent and it comes out he has a lengthy record of prior violence and is out and about as he is awaiting trial for a couple more felonies. One here is Houston was actually wearing an ankle monitor as he attacked and killed someone.Except that your Houston example
isn't a case where the person had a lengthy record of prior violence.
I believe you're referring to this case:
harriscountyda.com - Houston man sentenced to years in prison for cypress area murderLooking at the facts described in the article, it's hard to see how the judge in the prior crime could have ordered pre-trial detention. The defendant was a minor, 16 or 17 years old. He was charged with attempted burglary - a crime that the
Texas state legislature (not a body known for being "woke") has
not included in the list of "offenses involving violence" for which pre-trial detention can be authorized. And under Texas law (again, set by the conservative
state legislature), the law is tilted towards
presuming that a person should be released on bond:
"In each criminal case, unless specifically provided by other law, there is a rebuttable presumption that bail, conditions of release, or both bail and conditions of release are sufficient to reasonably ensure the defendant's appearance in court as required and the safety of the community, law enforcement, and the victim of the alleged offense."
statutes.capitol.texas.gov: Texas Constitution and StatutesBased on the facts presented in the article, the magistrate in the first case was probably
required by state law to release him on bond with an ankle monitor.
Albaby
I don't want to derail the thread, but note that this is another example where having a gun in the house ended up being a terrible thing for the gun owner. Victim was being robbed, but managed to go for his gun - but instead of preventing the robbery, victim ended up being shot to death when the perp shot back. If he hadn't owned a gun, victim would have had a good chance of surviving the encounter.
