ACTIVIST GROUP TO START BAILING OUT INMATES.
Local community activists said Tuesday they would begin bailing defendants out of some of Texas’ largest county jails to protect them from dangerous conditions inside caused by the spread of the new coronavirus.
In a news release, the Texas Organizing Project announced it would focus on bailing out people with low bonds in Harris County, Dallas County, Bexar County, and Fort Bend County. Harris County’s jail, with some 7,400 inmates, is the second largest county jail in the United States.
“People should be home with their families,” said Michael Roberts, a TOP leader from Bexar County. “None of these people we’re bailing out are eligible for the death penalty, and they shouldn’t get a defacto death sentence just because they don’t have the money to bail out. Everyone has a right to life, dignity and justice.”
On Tuesday, it was unclear how many defendants the organization might actually help get released from jail. A TOP spokeswoman said the organization has raised about $25,000. The effort began last week, in San Antonio. In some cases, they paid off bails of $10 to $25, she said. One person they bailed out died three days after his release.
So far, the organization has bailed out two people in Harris County, and plans to begin similar efforts in Dallas next week, she said.
The move comes as law enforcement officials and public health experts have repeatedly clashed over how to balance the state’s public safety and public health.
In Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and Judge Lina Hidalgo have warned about the need to reduce the jail’s population to prevent a massive outbreak in the jail that could spread into the community and strain the county’s hospitals — but met with fierce op
position from Police Chief Art Acevedo, District Attorney Kim Ogg, Gov. Greg Abbott and his attorney general and many others. Opponents worry that the release of many inmates will endanger public safety.
After a local magistrate cited concerns about the jail’s population as one reason for granting a defendant a $500 bond, prosecutors asked the state’s highest criminal court to raise his bond. The Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday issued a new warrant for the arrest of defendant Timothy Singleton, and set a new bond of $100,000.
In that case, prosecutors argued that magistrates could not consider general concerns about public health while setting a defendant’s bail. Singleton’s attorneys argued prosecutors violated his rights with their action.
TOP officials said their move came after elected officials were unable to significantly reduce populations in county jails, where most of the inmates are awaiting trial and thus are presumed innocent.
“It’s always been inhumane that we punish people for being poor by forcing them to stay in jail while they await trial,” said Brianna Brown, TOP’s deputy director. “It’s become even more abhorrent now that we are forcing these same people to potentially catch a disease that could kill them.”
Since the first cases of coronavirus came to light in the jail, more than 150 sheriff ’s deputies, detention officers and other employees have fallen ill. Hundreds more have had to be quarantined for possible COVID-19 exposure, according to the sheriff’s office. About 180 employees have recovered and returned to work. At the same time, nearly 100 Harris County inmates have contracted COVID-19 and an additional 45 inmates are quarantined after displaying symptoms indicating they might also be sick.
The situation is similar across the state, with nearly 4,000 inmates quarantined in county jails. All told, more than 200 inmates are sick with COVID-19, with another 154 waiting on test results, according to information from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. At least 158 jailers statewide are sick; another 145 are waiting on test results as well, according to the records.
Harris County Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin said TOP’s actions underscored the problem facing the state’s county jails and its bail system.
“The whole premise is, if you can raise money, you can get people out,” he said. “It further shows how ridiculous our cash bail system is. That strangers can just find someone and get them released.”
Acevedo said a defendant’s potential danger to society should determine whether he or she remains in custody. “If somebody has bond pending, and someone pays for them, that’s their prerogative to do that,” he said. “Bond shouldn’t be about money, it should be about the threat posed by that person."
Houston Police Officers’ Union Vice President Doug Griffith questioned whether the defendants TOP bails out will return for future court dates.
“What’s their motivation to show up to court?” he asked.
“I hope they don’t lose too much money,” he continued, referring to TOP. “But if they do, that’s what happens when you support crooks.”
“The whole premise is, if you can raise money, you can get people out.” Alex Bunin, Harris County chief public defender