Update to scene on Green Crest; a teen (15) adviser that his 9-yr-old brother had been dead for a year and his body was in the room next to his. Deputies found skeletal remains of a small child. Deputies also found two other male children in the apt unit under the age of 10. Both
appeared malnourished and showed signs of physical injury. All three were transported to a hospital to be assessed and treated for their injuries. It is believed the parents have not loved in the unit for several months. The mother of the children and her boyfriend were located
late last night. HCSO Homicide Unit, Child Abuse Unit, and Crime Scene Unit are conducting the investigation. CPS also responded to the scene. This remains an active investigation. #HouNews
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A common suggestion is that having defendants in jail during a pandemic may actually be safer: isolated & can be quarantine. I want to share some thoughts regarding the challenge: (1)-it’s impossible to practice social distancing and heightened hygiene when 8,000 people are
detained in a close space. #COVID19 is extremely contagious and spreads through the air and from contaminated surfaces. When one person tests positive, there will be dozens more within a day or two. If even 20% of the jail population is infected, and that is a conservative
estimate, it will overwhelm the jail’s limited resources. (2)-we do not have the space or facilities to adequately quarantine people who test positive, nor do we have the medical facilities to respond to a serious case of #COVID19. Anyone who requires hospitalization, as 10% of
This individual had the means to post a bond. Research shows that when cash is the primary determinant on who gets in and out of jail, it doesn’t make us safer. Decisions should be guided by effectively assessing “risk” and research. With money involved, too many folks that may
not be a high risk, sit in jail, while high risk offenders can pay their way out of jail. This is why we should move to an “intentional system of detention”; we currently do not have that. Nobody wants any defendant to be released pretrial only to further their criminal careers
while we are trying them for any particular charge. In a model bail system, based on intentionality, such a person would likely be held without bail period. But when we look at the details, we see that it is not so easy simply because TX is currently in-between systems. I
IMO, we need increased dialogue to address the impacts of a traumatized society. Pause for a moment and reflect on this: the vast majority of us are walking around with some form of trauma. We have lived through events that have traumatized in unimaginable ways.
Mass killings, natural disasters, attacks in schools and places of worship. Inner-city violence and the 90,000 children in our county each year that have a patent locked up in our local jail. Certain films now require increased police presence.
Do you think survivors in El Paso might be harboring some trauma? What about our first responders that experience firsthand traumatic and horrifying incidents daily? Surely there’s an impact to our collective psyche. I don’t have the answers, but perhaps we start today on