On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) held a roundtable in Austin, Texas to discuss state bail reform.
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00:00Set? Ready to go? All right. Listen, I want to thank everybody for being here.
00:04I especially want to thank people who are leading the process of the topic we're talking about today.
00:10What we're talking about today is the urgent need to fix a broken bail system in the state of Texas
00:16that literally is killing our fellow Texans.
00:21The leaders of this in the Texas Senate and Texas House are Senator Joan Huffman and Representative Smithy,
00:27and they both will be talking to you here shortly.
00:30I also want to thank some of the survivors who are with us, one of whom is sitting up at the table with me,
00:39and she will be sharing her story, and that's Sophia Struther-Lewis.
00:43I want to thank Michael Bullock with the Austin Police Association, Chuck DeVore here with TPPF,
00:48who will be talking and sharing a little bit more about his perspective.
00:52Also, very importantly, this is an issue where there are victims and survivors,
01:01those who have been directly attacked by criminals.
01:05At the same time, this is a challenge that's being confronted by law enforcement across the state of Texas.
01:12Law enforcement who may make arrests of some of these dangerous criminals only to see them let right back out onto the street.
01:18Law enforcement officers who themselves are charged with securing and safeguarding those neighborhoods,
01:25that these crazy leftist judges who release these criminals are endangering those law enforcement officers
01:31by putting these people back onto the street.
01:33That's one reason why we are joined today by law enforcement officials from across the entire state of Texas.
01:40They include the representatives from the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas,
01:47Texas Municipal Police Association, the Texas Department of Public Safety,
01:52the Sheriff's Association of Texas, the Texas Police Chiefs Association,
01:58the Austin Police Association, the San Antonio Police Officers Association,
02:04the Deputy Sheriff's Association of Bexar County,
02:06as well as the Sheriff of Brazoria County,
02:11the Sheriff of Chambers County,
02:13the Sheriff of Tarrant County,
02:15and Bexar County Commissioner Grant Moody.
02:19Most importantly,
02:22I want to thank
02:24the survivors for being here.
02:28There's nothing more
02:30kind of incomprehensible,
02:34shocking,
02:34frustrating,
02:38tear-jerking
02:39than to
02:41hear the stories of survivors.
02:45The only thing worse than that is what the survivors actually had to go through.
02:51And
02:52it's important that
02:53survivors be involved in this because
02:56it's their stories that are going to
02:58change the minds of the people whose
02:59votes we need to be able to get this passed.
03:02And so,
03:03in addition to
03:05thanking
03:05Sophia and
03:07the other survivors,
03:11just know the difference that you're making.
03:14Know how grateful we are that you're part of this process today,
03:17part of the process that will ensure
03:19that we get legislation across the finish line
03:22that's going to make Texas a safer place
03:25by tying the hands of judges
03:27who are releasing
03:28deadly,
03:29dangerous criminals
03:30out onto the streets
03:31just to harm somebody else.
03:37We're here today to
03:38tackle
03:39a bipartisan issue.
03:43It's a common sense issue.
03:47Fixing the deadly and broken
03:49bail system that lets
03:50dangerous criminals
03:51right back out onto our streets.
03:54We're joined, as I mentioned,
03:56by families who
03:57lost a loved one
03:59or had a loved one
04:01assaulted by a criminal
04:03released on easy bail
04:05or no bail.
04:07Activist judges
04:08are protecting
04:10dangerous
04:12criminals
04:13instead of
04:14the innocent Texans
04:16that those criminals harm.
04:19There are many horror stories
04:21across the state.
04:23Many horror stories
04:24right here in Travis County.
04:26One of them
04:26involves the death
04:28of Xavier Jones Sr.
04:31Jones was robbed
04:32and killed
04:33by a group of career criminals.
04:36Three of the six
04:37felons charged
04:38with his murder
04:39were out on
04:4016 active bonds.
04:43One as low
04:44as just
04:45$1,000.
04:47Despite
04:48their lengthy
04:49rap sheets
04:50and known
04:51gang affiliations,
04:53Travis County
04:54judges
04:55kept giving
04:55these
04:56repeated felons
04:57extra chances.
05:00With that
05:01extra chance,
05:03they shot
05:04and killed
05:05Xavier Jones Sr.
05:07in front of
05:08his girlfriend
05:09and her child.
05:12Jones was
05:12slaughtered
05:14in the state
05:14representative
05:15Tallarico's
05:16district.
05:18To prevent
05:19similar murders,
05:22representative
05:22Tallarico
05:23needs to
05:23step up
05:24and join
05:25with
05:26representative
05:27Smithy
05:27in the Texas
05:28House of Representatives
05:29to support
05:30a constitutional
05:32amendment
05:32that
05:33fixes
05:34the
05:34broken
05:35bail
05:35system
05:35that
05:35we
05:36have.
05:39Know this.
05:41The story
05:42that I told
05:43and you're going
05:44to hear today,
05:45they're not
05:45isolated
05:47incidents.
05:49Hundreds
05:49of Texans
05:51have been
05:52murdered
05:52by violent
05:53criminals who
05:54had been
05:55previously
05:55arrested
05:56and then
05:58released
05:58on easy
05:59bail.
05:59That's
06:01exactly
06:02why I
06:02made
06:02bail
06:03reform
06:03an
06:03emergency
06:04item
06:04this
06:04session.
06:06Judges
06:06simply
06:06have
06:07far
06:08too
06:08easy
06:09discretion
06:10to
06:11set
06:11easy
06:12bail
06:12for
06:12violent
06:13criminals.
06:14Activist
06:15judges
06:15let
06:16repeat
06:16offenders
06:17back
06:18into
06:18neighborhoods
06:18with
06:18little
06:19or
06:19no
06:19bail.
06:21Neighborhoods
06:22that our
06:23law enforcement
06:23officers are
06:24charged
06:25with
06:25patrolling.
06:28And let's
06:28be clear
06:28about this.
06:30This is not
06:31a right
06:32or left
06:33issue.
06:34This is
06:35not and
06:35should not
06:36be a
06:37Republican
06:38or a
06:39Democrat
06:39issue.
06:40This is
06:41a public
06:42safety
06:43issue
06:43plain and
06:44simple.
06:46To fix
06:47the broken
06:48bail
06:48system
06:48we have
06:50to amend
06:50the
06:50Constitution.
06:51Let me
06:51explain that
06:51very quickly.
06:53Texas is
06:54different than
06:55some other
06:55states.
06:57In Texas
06:58bail is
06:59set out
06:59in the
07:00Constitution.
07:01What that
07:02means is
07:02to change
07:03the
07:03bail
07:03system
07:03we
07:04can't
07:04just
07:04pass
07:05a
07:05law
07:05to
07:05fix
07:05it.
07:06We
07:06have
07:07to
07:07pass
07:07a
07:07constitutional
07:08amendment
07:08to fix
07:08it.
07:09That
07:10requires
07:10two-thirds
07:10of the
07:11members of
07:11both the
07:12Texas
07:12House and
07:13Texas
07:13Senate
07:13to get
07:13it
07:14done.
07:15And to
07:15fix the
07:16broken
07:16bail
07:16system
07:17we
07:17need
07:17to
07:18amend
07:18the
07:18Constitution
07:18to do
07:19several
07:20things.
07:21One
07:22is to
07:22work on
07:22people's
07:23phones that
07:23are going
07:24off in the
07:24middle of a
07:24press
07:25conference.
07:29One,
07:31judges must
07:32automatically
07:33deny bail
07:34for violent
07:35crimes like
07:35murder,
07:36rape,
07:37and human
07:37trafficking unless
07:38there is clear
07:40and convincing
07:40evidence that the
07:41defendant will
07:42appear in court
07:42and not
07:44endanger the
07:45community.
07:46What this
07:47does, it
07:47changes the
07:48law to
07:48shift the
07:49burden for
07:50repeat violent
07:51criminals to
07:52prove that
07:53they are not
07:54a danger to
07:54the community.
07:56Second,
07:58judges who
07:59release violent
07:59criminals on
08:00easy bail must
08:01explain their
08:02decision to
08:03the public in
08:04writing so
08:06that they can
08:07be accountable
08:07for the deadly
08:09dangerous decision
08:10that they make.
08:12Third,
08:13prosecutors must
08:15be given the
08:15right to
08:16appeal a
08:17judge's
08:18questionable
08:19bond so
08:20that when
08:20one of
08:21these leftist
08:22easy judges
08:22lets a
08:23dangerous
08:23criminal back
08:24out on the
08:24streets,
08:25it can be
08:25appealed
08:25immediately and
08:26get a court
08:27of appeals to
08:27say the
08:28trial court was
08:29wrong, that
08:29person must be
08:30apprehended and
08:31put right back
08:32behind bars.
08:38Too many
08:38judges let
08:41dangerous criminals
08:42back out on
08:43bail only to
08:45see them commit
08:46another murder
08:48or assault.
08:49state
08:51representatives must
08:53fix that by
08:55passing a
08:55constitutional
08:56amendment.
08:58Lawmakers must
08:59choose, support
09:01the safety of the
09:02citizens they
09:03represent or the
09:05criminals who
09:06kill them.
09:08Next is going to
09:09be Senator Joan
09:11Huffman.
09:12Thank you,
09:13Governor, and
09:13thank you for your
09:14powerful words
09:16speaking to
09:17victims and
09:18their rights and
09:21just the
09:22horrors that
09:23they've suffered.
09:24You know,
09:24we've been working
09:25on this for
09:26several years.
09:27Many of you in the
09:27press have been
09:28following this and
09:29you know that.
09:30And we've worked
09:31very hard with
09:32these Democrats that
09:33the governor has
09:34talked about to
09:36work on, you know,
09:37try to negotiate.
09:38But I will say
09:40this, we are done
09:40negotiating.
09:41The governor has
09:42laid out perfectly
09:43what the bill is
09:44going to do.
09:46This package of
09:47bills has real
09:48solutions in them
09:50that will make a
09:51difference.
09:51We heard from some
09:52family members today,
09:54Mr. Davis spoke of
09:55his daughter that
09:56was murdered.
09:58Jim and Connie
09:59Branham spoke of
10:00their son.
10:01The bills actually
10:01would have helped
10:03their situation.
10:04No one could
10:04predict exactly what
10:05would have happened,
10:06but there were
10:06real solutions that
10:08there would have
10:09been a very real
10:10probability that
10:11those individuals
10:12would not have been
10:13out and been in a
10:13position where they
10:14could have killed
10:15their loved ones.
10:16These Democrats who
10:18continue to not be
10:20willing to look at
10:21the facts and the
10:22realization that this
10:24is happening in their
10:26districts, their
10:27constituents are being
10:28raped, murdered,
10:31threatened, terrorized,
10:32that they should have
10:34a moral obligation to
10:36take this vote and to
10:37pass this on so the
10:38Texas voters can make
10:40a decision.
10:41We're all convinced
10:42that the Texas voters
10:43will overwhelmingly
10:44approve this resolution
10:46and all these other
10:48reforms that are in
10:49place will make a real
10:50difference.
10:50Law enforcement has
10:51said so.
10:52They've spoke eloquently
10:53as well about the
10:55repeat offenders.
10:56They see the people
10:57that they have to
10:57continue to re-arrest,
10:59the lack of
11:00cooperation that they
11:01are seeing with
11:01witnesses because the
11:03witnesses on the
11:03street are afraid that
11:05if they speak out
11:06against someone,
11:06they're going to be
11:07out on bail in just a
11:08few weeks or a few
11:09days or a few hours
11:10even, literally a few
11:12hours.
11:13I've heard police tell
11:13me that it's very
11:14frustrating to them to
11:16arrest someone, they go
11:17back out to the scene
11:18and here comes the
11:18perpetrator again.
11:20It literally happens
11:21that way.
11:21This is just, it's
11:22nonsense.
11:24It's time for there to
11:25be a change and Texans
11:26deserve a change.
11:28And so I implore the
11:29Texas House Democrats to
11:31vote for these common
11:33sense measures.
11:34Thank you, Governor.
11:35And now the House
11:36sponsor, Representative
11:38Smithy.
11:40Thank you, Governor, and
11:41thank you, Senator
11:41Huffman.
11:42You know, the first time
11:43when I first got involved
11:44in this effort, I met
11:46with the Governor.
11:47The Governor said,
11:48the best thing that we
11:48can do is pass
11:49legislation that
11:51substantially fixes the
11:52problem.
11:53He said, the worst
11:54thing we can do is
11:55pass legislation and
11:56then just say we fixed
11:57the problem.
11:59And I'll tell you,
12:00Governor Abbott has
12:03been the negotiator
12:04that's kept this thing
12:06straight and has kept
12:07us in a strong
12:09position.
12:10And we're working,
12:11you know, trying to
12:12work out a deal.
12:13But it's not going to
12:14be a bad deal.
12:15It'll be a good deal.
12:17If we don't make a
12:17deal, then we're going
12:18to go to battle.
12:20And we're ready to do
12:21that as well.
12:23I've been visiting with
12:24Sophia, and I can tell
12:26you, she may have the
12:27title victim under her
12:29name, but she's not
12:31really a victim right
12:32now.
12:32She's a warrior.
12:33She's gone to war in
12:35the political system,
12:36not to help herself,
12:38but to prevent what
12:39happened to her and so
12:41many other families
12:41from happening again.
12:45And I can promise you,
12:46if this legislation, if
12:47we pass good, strong
12:49legislation, it will
12:51save human lives.
12:52And not just human
12:53lives, but innocent
12:54human lives.
12:55It's children, mamas,
12:57daddies, and brothers
12:59and sisters.
12:59It will.
13:00And so, you know,
13:02Senator Huffman has
13:03pretty much given a
13:04piece of her life to
13:05this legislation over
13:06the years.
13:08Not me, not to that
13:10extent, but I can tell
13:11you it's the last thing
13:12I think about before I
13:13go to sleep at night
13:14and the first thing I
13:15think about when I
13:16wake up.
13:17But I will say this,
13:19that when you work so
13:20hard on a bill, you
13:21think of it as being
13:21your bill.
13:22And I know, but what
13:25I've come to realize is
13:26this isn't Senator
13:27Huffman's bill, it's
13:28not my bill, not the
13:30governor's bill, it's
13:32this bill belongs to
13:34the victims and the
13:35families of these
13:36people.
13:36And so when we are
13:38successful and we will
13:39be successful, the
13:41victory goes to them.
13:43And let's hear from one
13:45of them right now with
13:46Sophia.
13:47If you would, please
13:49share your story.
13:49Thank you again,
13:51Governor Abbott, Senator
13:52and Representative, so
13:54much for your
13:55connotation of saying
13:56we're going to go to
13:57battle.
13:58It's really time out for
13:59chit chat at this point
14:00because for us, this is
14:02our lives.
14:03This is not something to
14:04play with, with
14:05politics.
14:06This is something that
14:07we have to deal with
14:08every day.
14:09On January 1st, 2001,
14:13this man, Augustine
14:15Daffi Akulo, who is now
14:16a convicted sexual
14:17assault felon and also
14:20a federally convicted
14:21felon for money
14:23laundering, conspiracy
14:24and fraud, tortured
14:26and raped me.
14:28I decided to go through
14:30the justice journey, which
14:31was just as horrifying as
14:33actually being raped and
14:35tortured and kidnapped.
14:37But I put myself out
14:39there primarily because I
14:40wanted to be a voice.
14:42I didn't want to allow for
14:43him to potentially do it to
14:45someone else, which come to
14:46find out by me coming
14:47forward.
14:48I potentially helped put a
14:49stop to eight other women
14:50that were in queue.
14:52So going through that
14:54justice process, he had two
14:55opportunities to get bond.
14:57He got one initially after he
14:59was picked up, but he was put
15:01into the federal government's
15:03possession and then they let
15:05him out, didn't tell me because
15:06I wasn't the federal
15:07government's victim.
15:09I was the state's victim.
15:10But after that, he was given
15:12bond even through the state
15:14originally and right after
15:16that, and it can be looked
15:17up, he went to where I
15:19reside and work at and blew
15:21up about two to three of my
15:22vans.
15:23At that time, I had a
15:24contract with Amazon as a
15:26delivery service partner.
15:27So I was an entrepreneur that
15:29wanted to have a family
15:30business.
15:30Even in the midst of going
15:32through what I was going
15:33through, I wanted to be able
15:34to give back to a state that
15:36I love.
15:37Fast forward to November of
15:392023 when my trial took place
15:41and I was there and the only
15:43person in there that was of my
15:44family was my oldest son, who
15:46is also the product of me being
15:48trafficked as a juvenile here in
15:49Texas.
15:50He was the only one there in the
15:52audience, and after going through
15:54the trial with ten men and two
15:55women, he was found guilty of
15:57sexual assault on November 16th of
15:592023.
16:06The prosecutor, Ryan Bonds, asked
16:10for him to be remanded into
16:11custody, primarily because he was
16:13already a repeat felon through the
16:16federal government, found guilty in
16:182019 with Homeland Security.
16:21And then now, through the state of
16:22Texas, he's a convicted sexual
16:25assault felon.
16:27His attorney said, well, your
16:29honor, my client has a baby due in
16:32two weeks.
16:33Can he be let out on bond?
16:36And the judge said, oh, okay,
16:37congratulations, we're going to go
16:40ahead and let you out on bond.
16:42You promised to come back, right?
16:43And he let him out on $75,000 bond,
16:46which basically means that he
16:48assessed to me, as a survivor of
16:50someone that was able to prove her
16:52case of being raped, I was only worth
16:54$750.
16:57After that, he never showed back to
16:59the sentencing trial on December 14th
17:03of 2023.
17:04And all of 2024, when my name started
17:07showing up on the dark web, because he
17:09was able to see my social security
17:10number, my date of birth, my vehicle
17:12license plate, my name and my address.
17:15So, of course, this convicted felon of
17:17money laundering, conspiracy and fraud
17:18now has all of my personal
17:20information.
17:21I then endure bank fraud and identity
17:24theft.
17:25I had to make one of the hardest
17:26decisions of my adult life outside of
17:28filing against him.
17:30In June of 2024, I had to voluntarily
17:34terminate my multi-million dollar
17:35contract with Amazon, close my company
17:40where I employed at least 100 people,
17:44had been working my butt off for the
17:45last five years with a payroll of
17:47almost 2 million.
17:48And I say that proudly being able to
17:50invest into this economy and go from
17:53being a multi-millionaire to $500,000 in
17:56debt instantaneously.
17:57A month later, I very seriously thought
17:59about ending my life.
18:00So we talk about people that lose their
18:02life to perpetrators that are let out
18:04on bail, but they don't talk about those
18:06of us that want to die to suicide because
18:09we feel like life is no longer worth it
18:11and our value is nothing.
18:14The judge allowed me to continue to go
18:16forward as if my life means nothing.
18:19And so even now, as he has been on the
18:21run for over 70 weeks, I have
18:24unfortunately not been able to hear from
18:25Homeland Security or from the Lone Star
18:27Fugitive Task Force.
18:28But I did hear from Governor Abbott, and when I got the call to be able to tell my story, and give a voice to what so many of us, whether it's the parents and loved ones of those that have lost their lives, whether it's sexual assault survivors like myself, human trafficking survivors, even domestic violence,
18:42even domestic violence survivors, have been waiting for our opportunity to say we are worth more than the bail. For some of them, I've heard a hundred dollars, so I'm worth ten. That person was worth ten cents if you give a dollar bail. Like it doesn't make sense.
18:49And it needs to stop. And so I am here, along with several other of the survivors, of the family members, of those that have lost their lives, that have lost their lives, whether it's sexual assault survivors like myself, human trafficking survivors, even domestic violence survivors, have been waiting for our opportunity to say we are worth more than the bail.
19:04And so I am here, along with several other of the survivors, of the family members, of those that have lost their lives, that we wage war, Representative. It's not about chit chat. And I, again, declare for any representative, any Senator that is not on board with this, come to my face and tell me what value you see in me. Thank you again, Governor Abbott.
19:33Thank you. To be clear, if and when this passes, the criminal who assaulted her, tormented her, would have remained behind bars, would not have been able to continue to torment her. And that's exactly one of the things we're trying to achieve here.
19:54And who in the Texas House of Representatives can be in favor of letting her rapist, her tormentor, back onto the street to continue to re-violate her day after day after day? It's insanity.
20:12It's insanity. This is a bill, a constitutional amendment that just restores sanity to the legal process.
20:23Law enforcement is intricately involved in this process. And speaking for law enforcement today is Michael Bullock with the Austin Police Association that sees a whole lot of this in Austin, Texas.
20:35Yes, sir. Along with everybody else, thank you, Governor Abbott, Senator Huffman, and Representative Smithy, and Sophia for speaking up on this because it is a critical issue that law enforcement does deal with on a daily basis.
20:53And in particular, in recent years, we have seen that unfortunately, time and time again, how lenient our judges and oftentimes prosecutors are towards violent criminals.
21:06And it does nothing but destroy public safety in Texas rather than uphold it and emboldens those who break the law.
21:14And that not only endangers the public, but it also endangers officers as well, sitting here, hearing story after story.
21:21It's very clear, especially here in Austin, how prevalent this issue is, how officers have gone to calls involving someone who was the victim of family violence and calling yet again because the person who made them a victim has come back.
21:38And when officers show up, it then becomes a deadly encounter with law enforcement, and they attempt to shoot law enforcement as well.
21:47We have other individuals who get arrested for aggravated robbery detectives that spend hours working on these cases trying to bring justice to these families for then a low bond to be issued
21:58and individuals to be let back out with little to no accountability or oversight, and then they continue to go on the exact same criminal rampage that they had before with little to no intervention.
22:14We also have instances that happen right outside the building where we sit right now in the heart of the capital city where a murder occurred,
22:24and then we find out that the individual that APD arrested for that homicide was out on a bond, and he had previously been arrested for aggravated assault.
22:35We have other instances where there are random acts of violence that occur, and individuals may be arrested, but then little value is assigned to those lives,
22:44and all that is going on right now is the re-victimization of people who have already lost the most with the prioritization of people who have broken the law.
22:54And it's become very clear that apathetic district attorneys and judges who seem to have no sense of public safety are endangering our cities,
23:05and they are destroying the sense of law and order that Texas and our citizens hold very dearly and that law enforcement works very hard to uphold.
23:14So common sense bail reform is desperately needed to keep violent offenders away from our communities so that we can try to restore that sense of safety that far too many people have lost here,
23:28and it is becoming ever more difficult for law enforcement to continue to do their job because prosecutors and judges are creating their own agenda
23:37agenda that is contrary to that of the safety of the citizens of Texas.
23:43So I, again, thank you all very much for working on this issue and for working with law enforcement and victims to hopefully move this forward,
23:49as it is not a political issue. It should not be one. It is one that is about safety of the people that we're all charged with taking care of.
23:58In the Capitol, we call this, among other things, a policy issue. We're trying to change the policy in the state of Texas.
24:08And we are making this presentation today at the headquarters of a policy organization, the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
24:16Thank you. It's a true honor to host Texas Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Public Policy Foundation, along with so many advocates and leaders,
24:32law enforcement leaders and survivors and courageous families.
24:36Your presence speaks to the urgency and importance of this issue before us, fixing a broken bail system.
24:50As you've heard with the testimony today from the governor, from our elected representatives and from the survivors,
24:58clearly our bail process is broken in Texas.
25:02At the Texas Public Policy Foundation, through our Right on Crime initiative, we spent years to improve public policy in Texas,
25:11to make things not only more effective, to save taxpayer funds where they can be saved, but also to improve public safety.
25:21This effort has been going on for some 15 years now, but despite our efforts and the efforts of our allies in the legislature,
25:28one area of Texas public safety continues to fail the people of the state of Texas,
25:35and that is our broken bail system, which too often releases dangerous offenders back onto the streets despite the serious public safety risk they pose.
25:47Earlier, I think before the press came in, we heard from one of the Department of Public Safety leaders
25:53about how our clearance rates have been declining, and one of our experts at TPPF, Nikki Presley,
26:00has been doing some groundbreaking research on clearance rates and why they have declined over the last 50 years.
26:06And one of the major reasons is the fear of witnesses that there'll be retribution from people who are too quickly let out on bail
26:16and may come back and seek revenge, or certainly at the very least, keep the witnesses silent.
26:22Today, dangerous offenders, individuals charged with crimes such as murder and sexual assault,
26:28are walking our streets because they can afford to post bail, as we heard from many here today.
26:36We believe in a bail system based on risk, not riches.
26:41That means that nonviolent offenders should most oftentimes be granted release.
26:47But high-risk people who pose a clear threat need to be detained in jail while awaiting their due process rights.
26:55The stories of those with us today who have been harmed by violent crime remind us that this is not merely a policy debate.
27:05This is a life-and-death issue.
27:07Violent offenders should never be offered multiple bonds, let alone be walking the streets free.
27:18That's why we stood proudly behind the Damon Allen Act, a good first step that banned personal recognizance bonds
27:26for violent and sexual offenses and gave magistrates better tools to assess risk.
27:33But that's not enough.
27:34The Texas Constitution still ties judges' hands, requiring judges to set bail for heinous crimes,
27:43no matter the dangerous threat posed by the defendant.
27:47This has to change.
27:49Governor Abbott and many of the people in this room have called for a constitutional amendment
27:54to give judges the ability to deny bail to the most violent offenders to prevent the next tragedy before it happens.
28:04And Texans agree.
28:06A poll conducted on behalf of the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Right on Crime found that 81% of voters,
28:13including over 70% of Democrats, support a constitutional amendment on bail.
28:20So today, we stand committed to this mission.
28:26TPPF and Right on Crime want to thank Governor Abbott for his leadership.
28:31We stand with the families whose voices must be heard.
28:36And we urge lawmakers to do the right thing.
28:40Let Texans vote on this critical amendment in November.
28:44Let's fix the system.
28:46Let's make Texas safer.
28:48Don't play politics with public safety.
28:50Let's put victims and public safety first where they belong.
28:57Thank you very much.
28:58I believe that there will very likely be a vote on this issue in the Texas House in the coming weeks.
29:07Every member of the Texas House has one question to answer.
29:13Are they going to vote to protect the citizens they represent or the criminals who kill them?
29:21We'll take a few questions.
29:22So you're going to need approximately 12 Democrats and all Republicans in the Texas House to get the constitutional amendment passed.
29:31What progress are you making in talking with these Democrats,
29:35and how are they responding to the additional provisions you're requesting now in addition to what are we passing?
29:42So there is progress, but not sufficient progress being made with discussions.
29:50I will tell you this, and that is the amended version that has the elements I laid out today, as well as a few more elements.
30:01I don't know how many Democrats have actually seen that yet.
30:04So they have not yet been put to the test.
30:08They will be put to the test, though, here in a week or two, where all we're seeking to do is to ensure that criminals with a proven, deadly, dangerous history,
30:22which is murder, assault, rape, et cetera, whether or not they are going to vote to say there's a tougher standard to let them out of jail,
30:31or are they going to say a judge can do whatever they want to do and release these deadly, dangerous criminals back out on the streets?
30:41That should be a very easy decision for them.
30:43We'll make decisions like that as they arise.
30:53My expectation is that no Democrat, no Republican wants to have on their record
31:00that they supported dangerous criminals over the safety of their own constituents.
31:05Governor, you mentioned tying the hands of governments.
31:09You had previously supported amendments that gave governments more distress.
31:14Can you just talk a little bit about what went into that decision to seek the stricter standard this session?
31:23Well, to be clear, you're talking about two extremely different types of crimes.
31:28There have been movements for years in Texas where we wanted to ensure that people who commit crimes
31:36that are not violent crimes, that don't harm anybody else, would have a pathway to course-correct their lives
31:44and go on to lead a productive life.
31:47It had nothing to do with murderers, rapists, human traffickers, and other violent crimes.
31:54What we're talking about now is what has happened across the state of Texas.
31:58Where people who are dangerous have committed crimes and judges let them go with low or easy bail
32:07only to commit more crimes.
32:09Across the state, there's close to 200 people who have been murdered by someone who had previously been arrested
32:17for a murder and let out on easy bail only to murder again.
32:22That's insanity, and it has to stop.
32:25Two more questions.
32:26The question for Representative Smithy, when are we going to see this out of committee and on to the health department?
32:33Well, we have really, I think, we've got to get it out this week of committee.
32:40And once we get it out of committee, hopefully it will be on the floor within a week or so.
32:46Last question.
32:46Any considerations for the local jails?
32:51We're going to have people being held definitely on, if there's no bond, it's going to be costly for the crowd.
33:00Let me tell you something.
33:01I'll be happy.
33:02I'll be the first in line in the state legislature to say,
33:06we need to write the check to keep murderers and rapists behind bars.
33:09Count me in.
33:10All right, thank you guys.