Press Contact: Devin McMahon, Manager of Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

AUSTIN, TX – Yesterday, in a press conference at Crime Stoppers of Houston, Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared support for amending the state constitution to automatically deny bail for certain criminal charges, unless a defendant can prove – via clear and convincing evidence – that they are not a danger to the community and will not miss court. He announced that Sen. Joan Huffman supports the proposal, and that changes will be made to her current bail legislation, which would already harm Texans.

Nicole Zayas-Manzano, Deputy Director of Policy at The Bail Project issued the following statement in response:

“Gov. Abbott wants a criminal justice system that ignores the U.S. Constitution – one where we don’t need to treat people as innocent until proven guilty. By forcing legally innocent people to prove they deserve their freedom prior to trial – and often without legal counsel present – Abbott is resorting to failed approaches that fuel mass incarceration. This proposal is not only dangerous, it’s unconstitutional. Gov. Abbott is coming for Texans’ rights, and Sen. Huffman is standing right beside him.”

Abbott’s proposal flips the legal standard of a presumption of innocence on its head and is a direct attack on the U.S. Constitution. Despite claims made by Abbott and Huffman to the contrary, these dangerous proposals will actually make Texans less safe: the state’s jails will balloon with more legally innocent Texans locked up before they’ve had their day in court – stripped from their livelihoods, jobs, and families. Because of how destabilizing and dangerous jails are, even short periods of incarceration increase the likelihood of a person getting arrested again on new charges. A 2017 study in Harris County found that “those detained pretrial are more likely to commit future crime.” That includes a 30% increase in new felony charges and a 20% increase in new misdemeanor charges. These proposals are unsafe, unfair, and indefensible.