AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Vice President of Criminal Justice and Right on Crime initiative Marc Levin issued the following statement on Texas Governor Abbott’s call for bail reform:

“We join Governor Abbott in mourning the death of this brave trooper whose killer had been released on money bail without any supervision,” said Marc Levin, Vice President of Criminal Justice at Texas Public Policy Foundation and Right on Crime. “We commend the Governor for urging Texas lawmakers to move to a risk-based system in which pretrial release decisions are based on public safety. This will ensure that defendants who pose a danger to law enforcement and others stay in jail. We were pleased to join the Texas judiciary in supporting bail reform legislation last session and look forward to working alongside Governor Abbott, Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, and legislative leaders to pass legislation in the upcoming session that prioritizes public safety and the respects constitutional rights.”

Today in Waco Gov. Abbott introduced the Damon Allen Act, named after a DPS trooper who was killed last November. Abbott called on lawmakers to strengthen public safety by equipping judges with greater access to criminal records so that dangerous defendants can be kept off the street, while also preventing unnecessary lockups for low-level, indigent offenders.