Harris County Sheriff Urges Early Prisoner Relief Amid Covid-19

Harris County sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, announced last week the compassionate release of prisoners who are the most vulnerable to contracting coronavirus. As the number of coronaviruses in Texas rise, local law enforcement are urged to think twice about who is coming in and out of jail.

Jail administrators must remain proactive. Jails are perfect incubators for #COVID19. I am concerned for my staff and those under my care. Standards we implement in the general community are either impossible to follow or hard to do in a jail setting. We can accomplish some
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/SheriffEd_... 18, 2020

Jail administrators must remain proactive. Jails are perfect incubators for #COVID19. I am concerned for my staff and those under my care. Standards we implement in the general community are either impossible to follow or hard to do in a jail setting. We can accomplish some
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) March" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/SheriffEd_... 18, 2020

On Saturday, Harris County Administrative Judge Herb Ritchie ordered the release of some non-violent criminals.

The state jail felonies listed in the order are:

• Bribery
• Credit or Debit Card Abuse
• Criminal Mischief
• Electronic Access Interference
• Delivery of Marijuana
• False Statement to Obtain Property or Credit
• Forgery
• Fraudulent Transfer of a Motor Vehicle
• Fraudulent Use or Possession of Identifying Information
• Graffiti
• Health Care Fraud
• Insurance Fraudulent
• Manufacture or Delivery of Substance in Penalty Group 1.481.112(b)
• Possession of Substance in Penalty Group 1.481.115(b)
• Manufacture, Possession, or Delivery of Unlawful Telecommunications Device
• Possession of Marijuana
• Theft
• Theft of Service

Harris County is following the same orders as many other counties across the US. Prisoners who would qualify for early release would include:

• Prisoners who have been charged with nonviolent offenses
• Prisoners who are above a certain age threshold
• Prisoners who have pre-existing health conditions

Combating COVID-19 & Preparing For The Worst

According to Houston criminal defense lawyer, David Breston, "Many prisoners have health conditions or other factors that may make them more at risk of contracting coronavirus. And with many prisons failing to maintain the recommended social distancing protocols, a single inmate contracting COVID-19 has the potential of rapidly spreading the disease throughout the prison system – impacting other healthy detainees, along with employees, their families and communities." By lessening the amount of people in jail, local law enforcement intends to combat the virus and make sure all officers are as safe as possible.

Stay Informed

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is working closely with the CDC to monitor the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) that is causing an outbreak of respiratory illness worldwide.

For more information visit these resource links below

• Texas case counts: COVID-19 case dashboard
• Crisis Response Map
• Live Coronavirus Updates