Bond reform in Harris County

I worked with my mentor on a site-specific felony bond reform project in Harris County, Texas. Vera was contracted by Harris County to reform felony bond practices with the goal of releasing more people pretrial. ... My mentor and I traveled to Houston three times and met with felony judges, county administrators, district attorneys, public defenders, the sheriff, police chief, and other stakeholders.

Ultimately, we crafted a policy to release more people pretrial on low-level felonies that the County can incorporate into its long-term reform strategies. This policy was also utilized in April 2020 as an emergency initiative to release people from Harris County Jail due to COVID-19. Nobody could’ve expected COVID to devastate the world, let alone our jails and prisons, and we were elated to help the County in any way possible.