SAN ANTONIO – The debate over bail reform is intensifying in Texas, with Governor Greg Abbott declaring it an emergency item.
This week, the Texas Senate has passed several bills to tighten restrictions on who can be released from jail before trial.
For years, Texas lawmakers have debated jail reform, with concerns that violent offenders released on bond may go on to commit additional crimes.
In Bexar County, multiple cases have fueled the debate.
In 2023, Jesse Garcia, a convicted felon out on bond, shot three San Antonio police officers before he was arrested.
Dominick Rubio, another convicted felon with a decade-long criminal history, was out on bond when he shot an SAPD officer.
More recently, Brandon Poulos shot seven SAPD officers last month, just days after he was released on bond.
The proposed legislation seeks to prevent certain defendants from being released on low-cost or cashless bonds.
It would allow judges to deny bonds altogether for individuals charged with violent offenses such as murder or aggravated robbery.
Additionally, the bill would prohibit undocumented immigrants charged with felonies from being granted bail.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the current bond system is broken and supports reform efforts.
“I’ve already indicated my support for some reform bills that Senator Huffman out of Harris County is proposing,” Gonzales said. “One of those is to increase the number of offenses for which a judge can remand a defendant without bond.”
However, Bexar County Criminal District Court Judge Ron Rangel expressed concerns about a one-size-fits-all approach.
“To make it a blanket, cookie-cutter approach where every single person charged with a certain type of offense cannot get out of jail while the case is pending removes tools from judges,” Rangel said. “Then you’ll find injustices occur.”
Rangel, the longest-serving criminal district court judge in Bexar County, argues that the root issue is a lack of funding for the criminal justice system.
“If you look back at the last several sessions, they’ve removed a lot of funds from jails, from prisons, from the criminal justice system,” he said.
The Texas House will now consider the legislation, with potential implications for how bail is handled statewide.
It’s important to note that in the past two legislation sessions, while the Texas Senate has passed some sort of bail reform, the Texas House has not.
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