Texas Court Dismisses Request for Inmate Releases During COVID-19 Pandemic

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has refused to take up a petition renewing the fight to end Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on inmate releases during the pandemic. The petition was dismissed without comment Thursday, more than two weeks after it was submitted as a request for emergency consideration. 

Attorneys for Donnie Davis, an inmate being held in the Anderson County lockup, a hot spot for COVID-19, argued that their filing would “resolve an important issue impacting citizens across the state in a manner that very well could mean life or death.”

In the more than 120 days since Davis was incarcerated, he has not been indicted, and he does not have money to post bond. Under Texas law, when those two circumstances exist, an inmate is entitled to be released while their case is pending. A judge was willing to let him out but said her hands were tied by Abbott’s order. 

With Thursday’s dismissal, the court of criminal appeals joins the Texas Supreme Court in refusing to block Abbott’s order.

In a second friend-of-the court brief urging the criminal appeals court to take up the matter, Baylor University Law Professor Ron Beal wrote, “there is simply no good faith interpretation to legally justify the power exercised by Governor Abbott. It is simply a blatant misinterpretation of the words of the statute, if it be an interpretation at all. As this court knows, the words of a statute are everything, and the governor’s position is not supported by even one.”  

In March, Abbott issued an executive order to “stop the release of dangerous felons from prisons and jails in Texas.”

Sixteen Harris County judges, the NAACP and others challenged the order in the courts. A district judge found Abbott had overstepped his authority. The state’s high court, however, determined that the plaintiffs failed to show anyone had been injured by the order. 

Davis was meant to be the example of someone who has been harmed.

RA Staff

Written by RA News staff.

Recent Posts

Kelly Clarkson Steps Away from Texas Flood Benefit After Ex-Husband’s Passing

Kelly Clarkson will no longer perform at this weekend’s Band Together Texas benefit concert, stepping…

14 hours ago

Judge Lina Hidalgo Dubs Colleagues the ‘GOP Three’

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo escalated tensions at Commissioners Court on Thursday, branding two of…

1 day ago

Texas Democrats Plan Return to Block Gerrymander, Awaiting End of Special Session

Dozens of Texas Democratic lawmakers are preparing to head back to Austin early next week…

1 day ago

Texas Democrats say they will return to state once session ends, California unveils retaliatory map

Texas House Democrats who left the state in protest of proposed congressional redistricting said Thursday…

2 days ago

Texas Private Schools Face Minimal Oversight Despite State Funding Expansion

For years, some Texas private schools have engaged in governance and financial practices that would…

2 days ago

Abbott vows to immediately call Texas lawmakers back to work if special session ends without new maps

The state's top three elected officials — Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and…

3 days ago

This website uses cookies.