Latest news with #TexasCodeofCriminalProcedure
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Austin crime: Judge reduces murder suspect's bond yet again
The Brief A murder suspect's bond has been reduced yet again this week. Stephon Morson has been charged with the Oct. 2024 murder of Keshawn Cage. This is the sixth different bond amount that has been attached to Morson's name regarding this case. AUSTIN, Texas - A Travis County judge reduced a murder suspect's bond yet again Thursday afternoon. This comes after the district attorney failed to meet an indictment deadline. The backstory Stephon Morson is accused of shooting and killing Keshawn Cage at a South Austin apartment complex in Oct. 2024. Morson was arrested five days after the murder on a tampering with evidence charge and then bonded out on $15,000. Two weeks later, he was arrested for Cage's murder and his bond was set at $800,000. He sat in jail for three months without any movement on his case. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states a person accused of a felony must be released, or their bail must be reduced if the state isn't ready for trial within 90 days. Austin crime: Man charged with murder is back in jail after bonding out 3 times New records show DA had more than a week to move murder case forward before indictment deadline Austin crime: Judge raises murder suspect's bond after it was dropped from $800K to $100 The Travis County DA's office failed to meet that 90-day deadline, so his bond was reduced to just $100. The DA's office then requested the bond amount be increased; the judge agreed and Morson was taken back to jail. What we know The day Morson was to put the money up to bond out of jail again, the DA's office obtained a new indictment on a retaliation charge. The defense claimed this was vindictive prosecution. "The irony of the retaliation charge being levied against Mr. Morson is that it was retaliation against Mr. Morson for posting bond," Morson's attorney Brian Erskine said. The judge asked the state why they decided to pursue the retaliation charge now and not during the sentencing phase. The state responded and said, "Matter of strategy." The judge said she agreed it appeared the new charge was in retaliation for Morson being out on bond, but did not rule it was prosecutorial vindictiveness. She said Morson was entitled to a bond reduction though and lowered his bond from $100,000 to $30,000. This is the sixth different bond amount that has been attached to Morson's name regarding this case. What they're saying "I believe that the DA didn't do their job, they had a job to do, they owed it to Keshawn, they owed it to our family to do their jobs. They only to our family to do their jobs, they didn't do their job. "But at the end of the day, the bottom line is this guy should not be free," Keshawn Cage's great-aunt Patricia Muse said. "I'm just ready to get this over with, I want justice for my son, I mean, it's caused our family a lot of pain and will continue to cause pain," Keshawn Cage's father Kerwyn Cage said. What's next The state now claims they have received lab reports indicating the DNA on the weapon and clothing found at the scene has a very strong likelihood it is Morson's. They plan to file a motion and fight for a bond increase again on April 17. The Source Information in this report comes from reporting by FOX 7 Austin's CrimeWatch reporter Meredith Aldis and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Missed deadlines leading to 100+ suspects being released, charges dropped in Travis County
AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 100 felony cases since 2021 had bonds modified or charges dropped as a result of the Travis County District Attorney's Office missing indictment deadlines, a KXAN investigation found so far. It comes as Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a new rule that enhances reporting requirements for District and County Attorneys 'to ensure accountability and promote public safety,' according to a press release issued Monday. KXAN began its investigation following reports of two murder suspects released from the Travis County Jail in recent months after bonds in the amounts of $800,000 and $1 million were reduced to $100 and $1 respectively, according to court documents. RELATED: 2 murder suspects released after missed indictment deadlines, an explanation The substantial bond reductions in these two cases were a result of the district attorney's office not meeting the 90-day indictment deadline for felony offenses outlined in Art. 17.151 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. With no uniform, statewide system in Texas to track how often defendants are released or cases are dismissed because of missed indictment deadlines, KXAN instead obtained Travis County criminal case data specific to modified or reduced bonds and dispositions for felony offenses since 2021, totaling nearly 120,000 cases. So far, we've reviewed fewer than 2,000 cases and are continuing to comb through the others. In addition to Art. 17.151 cases resulting in bond modifications and the release of defendants facing felony charges, KXAN also found felony charges dismissed or rejected because of missed indictment deadlines per Art. 32.01 and Art. 12.01 of the state's criminal code. Art. 17.151 states a defendant who has been detained and is in custody for a felony offense must either be released on a personal bond or a reduced bond if the state has not produced an indictment on the charges on or before 90 days. Art. 32.01 dismissals apply to cases where a defendant has been detained in custody without being presented an indictment within 180 days or by the last day of the next grand jury term. Art. 12.01 outlines the statute of limitations for different degrees of felony offenses. At a minimum, the State has three years from the date the offense occurred to present an indictment on a felony charge. So far, KXAN has identified nearly 150 felony cases where missed indictment deadlines due to one of these three categories have been a factor in the process or outcome of the case. Many of those were first degree felonies, violent offenses or both. While there hasn't been a uniform system to track these kind of cases, Paxton announced a new rule Monday aimed at improving transparency by requiring County and District Attorneys to submit detailed performance reports in an effort to 'hold rogue DAs accountable.' 'The information collected under the adopted rule will assist citizens in determining whether their local elected officials are inadequately prosecuting certain categories of crime, releasing dangerous criminals back into the community, engaging in selective prosecution, or otherwise failing to uphold their obligations,' the release stated. This move and KXAN's review follows widespread publicity about the two cases and recent questions raised by Texas State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, about how District Attorney José Garza handled them. In February, Eckhardt's office told KXAN reporter Nabil Remadna she has unresolved concerns about fairness, integrity and public accountability and is continuing to gather information about the situation. 'She has sought clarity about the number of times deadlines have been missed, as well as wanting to know how the district attorney plans to remedy the issue moving forward,' Eckhardt's office told KXAN in February. Responding in a statement to KXAN at the time, Garza's office said it 'rejects any suggestion from the State Senator and others that our office does not take equity, fairness, or accountability seriously,' further acknowledging lingering 'questions about (its) indictment process.' The statement continued, in part, 'Our office is currently conducting a review of all of our in-custody cases to ensure that prosecutors are working to secure indictments both quickly and also responsibly. While there are reasons a case may take longer than 90 days to present to the grand jury, including because of a lack of evidence, it is unacceptable for a case to remain unindicted due to a lack of care.' Garza's office has blamed 'management problems' surrounding the two cases, namely their handling by a prosecutor with around 20 years of experience who resigned the day after issues came to light. Officials claimed they have identified no other similar cases, despite KXAN's latest discovery. 'However, we take this seriously and will continue our review while putting more systems in place to ensure this does not happen again,' the statement from February added. KXAN awaits a response after asking the district attorney's office what its review has found and what specific 'systems' are being implemented. We will update this story when we receive the information. With the volume of felony crime data and the absence of a uniform tracking system in Texas, KXAN focused its review on first degree felony offenses and violent charges since 2021. Among the cases KXAN found, so far, more than 40% involved violent offenses — like eight murder cases, including the pair initiating this investigation. List of eight murder cases KXAN identified where indictment deadlines were missed. All but the one where a suspect was arrested on June 22, 2022, were released under article 17.151; the June 22, 2022, case was dismissed under article 32.01. Source: Travis County court records. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey) More than 90 of the remaining felony cases KXAN found specific to 17.151 and 32.01 involve various crimes related to the following charges: Aggravated offenses: Sexual assault (adult and child) Robbery Assault Kidnapping Burglary of a Residence Felony Driving While Intoxicated Felony Drug-Related offenses The majority of the cases KXAN found 'Rejected – Statute of Limitations has Run' since 2021 were drug and property-related offenses that went unindicted within their three-year statute of limitations, according to Travis County data. KXAN provided the district attorney's office with the number of cases referenced in this story and, again, awaits a response. KXAN spoke with multiple attorneys who have decades of combined experience working as assistant district attorneys in Travis County, as well as other jurisdictions, to get context about the indictment process and what we found. They told KXAN missing indictment deadlines was something that rarely occurred, in their experiences, and said there were always systems or processes in place to ensure this didn't happen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Austin crime: Man charged with murder is back in jail after bonding out 3 times
The Brief Stephon Morson is back in jail after bonding out three times Morson is accused of shooting Keshawn Cage in October 2024 The Travis County DA's Office missed a deadline, leading to Morson's bond being dropped to $100 AUSTIN, Texas - A man charged with murder is back in jail after bonding out three times. This comes as the Travis County District Attorney's Office filed a new charge against Stephon Morson. His attorney called the move "prosecutorial vindictiveness." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: New records show DA had more than a week to move murder case forward before indictment deadline Austin crime: Judge raises murder suspect's bond after it was dropped from $800K to $100 Austin man charged with first-degree murder gets bond reduced from $800K to just $100 Timeline On October 16, Keshawn Cage was shot and killed at an apartment complex in South Austin. Five days later, Morson was arrested for tampering with evidence in connection to the murder. A couple of days later, Morson bonded out on $15,000. Two weeks later, Morson was arrested for the murder and his bond was set at $800,000. Morson sat in jail for three months and there wasn't any movement in his case. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure states a person accused of a felony must be released, or their bail must be reduced if the state isn't ready for trial within 90 days. On the 91st day, Morson's attorney asked the judge to let his client out. "You can't hold people indefinitely. There has to be a mechanism. And that mechanism is an indictment. And if they don't present one, clearly they don't care, or they're negligent about the handling of their cases," Morson's attorney, Brian Erskine, said. About an hour later, the District Attorney's Office produced an indictment. "We had challenges with a prosecutor. We took action. That prosecutor is no longer with us. The newly assigned prosecutor immediately got to work, did all the work that it takes to get a case indicted, and did that on the 91st day," Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said. Because of the missed deadline, the judge reduced Morson's bond to $100 and Morson got out. The DA's office then requested the judge increase Morson's bond. On February 19, Judge Eldridge did. Morson's bond was increased to $100,000, and he was arrested and taken back to jail. Two weeks later, on March 5, Morson posted bond, and he was released. The next day, the District Attorney presented a new indictment on a retaliation charge. Morson's attorney calls it a "creation of a charge from the District Attorney's Office." Morson was asked to turn himself in, and he did on March 7. Morson's attorney said the DA's office was "upset that its shortcomings permitted someone to post bond and remain at liberty." He said this violates due process when criminal charges are brought in retaliation for the defendant's exercise of his legal rights. Morson is currently being held on a $100,000 bond. He has a hearing on April 3, 2025. Morson's attorney has subpoenaed the District Attorney and several Assistant District Attorneys stating they need to appear and testify in court. The Travis County District Attorney's Office didn't respond to FOX 7's request for comment. The backstory Stephon Morson is accused of shooting Keshawn Cage in October 2024. Police said it happened at an apartment complex in Southeast Austin and Morson's hoodie, shoes, and the gun investigators believe was used that night were found about 500 yards away. Court documents said a witness told detectives Morson and another person were arguing with Cage, calling Cage a snitch, claiming he worked with law enforcement and got another man locked up. The arrest affidavit said the witness identified Morson as the shooter. Morson was arrested on November 6, 2024, for murder and tampering with evidence. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Meredith Aldis and previous coverage
New York Times
24-02-2025
- New York Times
Supreme Court Justices Appear Narrowly Divided Over Death Row Prisoner Plea for DNA Testing
Ruben Gutierrez, a Texas death row inmate, says that newly uncovered DNA evidence proves that he did not stab an 85-year-old woman to death inside her mobile home more two decades ago. Texas prosecutors argue the testing, whatever it reveals, will not make a difference in his case. On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether Mr. Gutierrez could request the testing, appearing narrowly divided on the question. In July, the court took the extraordinary step of delaying Mr. Gutierrez's execution just 20 minutes before he was to be put to death. It was the second time the court had halted his execution over legal disputes in the case. Mr. Gutierrez was convicted and sentenced to death in 1999 for the robbery and the murder of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison. Prosecutors accused him and two other men of planning to rob Ms. Harrison by luring her from her mobile home and of stealing cash that she kept inside it. Evidence at the trial showed that Ms. Harrison had been stabbed to death in her home. Mr. Gutierrez maintains that he did not go inside Ms. Harrison's home and was not aware of any plan to harm her. For more than a dozen years, Mr. Gutierrez has sought to have evidence from the crime scene, including a bloodstained shirt, hair and nail scrapings, tested under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, arguing that none of these items would show his DNA. The argument before the court was not about innocence — Mr. Gutierrez does not contend he played no role in the events that led to the killing — but rather about whether he should face the death penalty. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
