Texas: Republican Judge Glenn Devlin Releases Juvenile Accused in Houston After Democratic Movement

Glenn Devlin, a Houston District Court judge who was among the 59 County Republican lawyers swept aside by a democratic outburst, released at least seven or more minors who appeared before him on Wednesday, according to a witness and media reports. reports. According to ABC 13, at least 10 minors were released.

Devlin first asked the children if they planned to kill someone.

Steve Halpert, head of the Juvenile Division of the Harris County Public Defender's Office in Houston, said he had already asked Devlin three times to release a customer accused of robbery, to no avail. On Wednesday, Devlin acceded to the request unceremoniously.

& # 39; & # 39; If I release you, will you go out and kill someone? "Devlin said to Halpert, who reportedly told his client and other people.

The accused, of course, said no.

"Okay, you're released," the judge said.

Halpert said that it was not a behavior he was used to Devlin and that he believed the judge was trying to argue his point of view.

"I heard him at court tell other lawyers," Hey, look, that's obviously what the voters wanted. "I think it was a bit talkative," Halpert said.

Republicans in Harris County had aired pre-election announcements warning that Democrats would be lenient with crime, Halpert said.

Devlin and another county juvenile court judge, John Phillips, also a Republican, were responsible for more than a fifth of minors sent to juvenile jails in 2017, revealed the Houston Chronicle during an investigation. in October. Counting the decisions of another juvenile judge in the Devlin and Phillips cases, about 96% of the children locked up were minorities, the Chronicle reported.

In Texas, juveniles aged 10 to 17 accused of crimes may be detained or handed over to their families at the discretion of the judges in their case, according to the ABC 13. Many released juveniles have been charged with : violent crimes, he reported.

"We oppose the mass release of violent offenders at any age," said Harris County Attorney Kim Ogg in a statement. "It could endanger the public."

Alex Bunin, the county's leading public defender, told The Houston Chronicle he was baffled by the judge's actions.

"I'm not sure I can wrap my arms around what it's actually doing," he said. "It's a huge change, and the only thing that has happened is that he was not elected, so I do not know what to attribute it to."

Criminal justice advocates have also criticized Devlin's decisions.

"Judge Devlin seems to abolish the fundamental responsibility of any serving juvenile judge," said Lone Star Justice Alliance's Chronicle Elizabeth Henneke, adding that she had never seen anything like this in court for Texas miners.

Devlin refused to comment to the newspaper.

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