In his recent State of the State address, Governor Abbott made it clear: ensuring the safety of Texans is a top priority. One critical step in achieving this is giving judges the ability to deny bail in cases where there is a serious threat to public safety.
Despite previous legislative efforts, dangerous criminals—including those charged with violent offenses like murder—can still be released on bail due to current restrictions on judicial discretion. The result? A system where the severity of a crime does not always determine whether an accused individual remains behind bars before trial.
Public safety must come first. Texans deserve a system that evaluates a defendant’s risk to the community rather than their ability to pay. The passage of the Damon Allen Act in 2021 was a step in the right direction, but there is still more work to be done to ensure that our bail system protects both victims and communities. At the same time, low-risk individuals should be given the least restrictive means and conditions necessary to ensure they don’t languish in jail unnecessarily.
A constitutional amendment allowing judges the discretion to deny bail in high-risk cases would give Texas a stronger, more accountable approach to pretrial detention. The vast majority of Texans—four out of five—support changes to ensure that public safety remains the top consideration in bail decisions.
At Right On Crime, we believe in solutions that balance justice, public safety, and individual rights. Lawmakers must act to close this gap in our pretrial system, ensuring that violent offenders cannot exploit existing loopholes to secure release. The time to act is now.