Harris County, Texas (KTRK) – More than a year after shutting down the system that caused more than 100 people accused of crimes to be released from prison, nothing has been done, and officials acknowledge it could happen again.
Harris County commissioners on Tuesday discussed ways to improve the web program responsible for our county’s criminal justice system.
The system was down for two days during a system update in March 2022, and the accused had to be released because, by law, suspects are supposed to appear before judges within 24 hours for misdemeanors and 48 hours for felonies.
On Tuesday, the Harris County clerk and judge told commissioners that the system is often faulty or incorrect, causing significant delays in a county that already has a large backlog of criminal cases.
Read more: Investigation is underway into the blackout that freed more than 100 prisoners in Harris County
“There are judges who are affected not just by closings but by things that are done with coding in the background that affects their ability to issue orders, their ability to run cases, their ability to conduct hearings has been impacted by thousands of cases,” Judge LaTusha Lewis Payne said. Harris County Local Administrative Justice, Judge LaTosha Lewis Payne.
The website is maintained by a third-party company responsible for most of the county’s web systems, but now, the county clerk says she wants her office to take over.
“When detainees are released without a hearing for probable cause, it is a matter of public safety,” said county clerk Marilyn Burgess. “When you can’t get a warrant issued in a timely manner, it’s a public safety issue.”
Budget officials work to obtain information about costs and other impacts.
County commissioners will vote this summer on the change.
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