SAN ANTONIO – After GA-13 was ruled unconstitutional on Monday, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said that as many as 300 prisoners now qualify to be released.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that heavily limited jail releases was ruled “wholly unconstitutional” by 379th District Court Judge Ron Rangel.
GA-13, which Abbott issued at the start of the pandemic on March 29, 2020, stopped the release of criminal defendants accused or convicted in the past of a violent crime on a no-cost, personal recognizance bond as they wait for their trial date. Abbott’s order also prohibited inmates serving misdemeanor sentences from being released early for good behavior.
In June, Rangel gave the governor’s office 45 days to respond to the issue before ruling but never heard back.
“The district attorney’s office was on board with the public defender’s office on the ultimate ruling that I made,” Rangel said via a Zoom interview on Tuesday.
The ruling at first caused some confusion as to who would qualify to be released.
“We’re not talking about individuals that are currently charged with a violent offense,” Rangel said. “It only relates to misdemeanor offenses.”
The release of these prisoners will help decrease the population at the Bexar County jail, something Sheriff Javier Salazar was happy about.
“I always believe that G 13 was a bit restrictive,” Salazar said. “I’m thankful that the judges are now able to get back the discretion that they should be afforded.”
Salazar also said the release of these prisoners will help reduce overtime costs and taxpayer money.
“We don’t need a governor’s order that oversteps, by the way, making the decision to lock people up to the tune of $5 million in taxpayer dollars,” Salazar said.
Some of those prisoners have already been released and jail officials are looking to find more who qualify under the ruling.
The governor’s office could choose to file an appeal but has yet to respond to the ruling.