The judge releases the defendants after losing the reelection, asking them if they would kill someone else.

A Texas judge reportedly released almost all of his juvenile defendants after losing his reelection on Tuesday, but not before asking them if they planned to kill anyone.

Judge Glenn Devlin of the Harris County Juvenile Court on Wednesday ordered the release of at least seven children, four of whom are facing charges of robbery, saying that it is a criminal offense. was what the voters wanted, reported the Houston Chronicle.

Devlin, a long-time Republican jurist who presided over the district's 313rd district court since 2010, was one of dozens of Republicans who were removed from office by a Democrat in Tuesday's mid-term elections.

Harris County public defender Steven Halpert, whose client was one of Devlin's released on Wednesday, said Devlin's defeat appeared to have sparked the release, which began by asking the defendants, "If I release you, are you going to murder anyone? "

Halpert told the Houston local station, ABC 13. "It's obvious that's what the voters wanted" and I think the election of all Democratic judges implicitly imply this belief that Democratic judges will be soft about crime. "

Perhaps supporting this presumed motivation, Devlin would have reset all the cases of his released defendants for January 4, when his Democratic replacement, Natalia Oakes, will take over.

Oakes, reacting to Devlin's behavior in an email to HuffPost on Thursday, said: "I would not expect it from a professional."

According to a report released last month by the Chronicle, Devlin and his colleague, John Philips, have many records of the incarceration of minors charged in their county and are behind the fifth of the miners sent to the US Department of Justice. Texas juvenile justice in recent years.

Harris County Attorney Kim Ogg condemned the judge's actions on Wednesday.

"We oppose the mass release of violent offenders of all ages. this could endanger the public, "Ogg said in a statement sent to HuffPost.

Sharon Watkins Jones, director of political strategies for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, also called for an investigation into Devlin's behavior.

"The massive release of children by Judge Devlin today, with no apparent concern for the safety of children nor to ensure that they are handed over to their parents, proves its detachment from the needs of children. each. To reduce mass incarceration and combat racial disparities, judges must consider individuals as individuals, "Jones said in a statement released on Wednesday.

"We call on the Texas Judicial Review Commission to investigate Judge Devlin for violating the canons of judicial conduct. It is improper for a judge to make orders motivated by partisan interests or insults as a result of his political loss. "

Devlin's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Houston reporter Keri Blakinger, who told the story of the Chronicle, said Devlin did not show up in court Thursday and that her coordinator had refused to explain her absence at the time. l & # 39; interrogation.

A lawyer, waiting to know who would oversee Devlin's records on Thursday, reportedly told Blakinger that they were not in court when the incident occurred,