Press Release: Crime Stoppers of Houston Fully Supports Governor Greg Abbott’s Calling to Make Bond Reform a Legislative Priority this Session
HOUSTON (January 22, 2021) – Yesterday, Governor Greg Abbott held a roundtable discussion in Austin with law enforcement and public safety advocates to discuss his legislative priorities to ensure a safer future for the Lone Star State. Crime Stoppers of Houston fully supports the Governor’s proposed initiatives to reform a ‘broken bail system’. As the leading public safety organization in Texas, Crime Stoppers of Houston identified this trend as a public safety concern early on and has been addressing this for nearly 2 years. In late 2019, Crime Stoppers’ Director of Victim Services, Andy Kahan, noticed a concerning pattern with defendants charged with murder: many of them had been released on multiple felony bonds, bond forfeiture and/or a personal bond. He began studying the issue and in mid-March 2020 began tracking the issue based on data from court records. In each case Andy tracks, the victims were killed by a Harris County suspect who: was a defendant who had been released on multiple felony bonds; or had a bond forfeiture reinstated; or had a motion to revoke bond denied; and/or was released on a PR Bond. Today, we are releasing Andy’s latest report that outlines 90 people who have been […]
