A Texas teen accused of homicide was launched from police custody after his bond was drastically diminished from $800,000 to $100 per cost.
Stephon Martin Morson, 19, was launched from the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas, on Saturday after he posted bail.
Morson is accused within the capturing demise of 20-year-old Keshawn Cage, who police discovered with a gunshot wound to the top again in October.
The Travis County Jail informed Fox Information Digital that Morson was booked on Nov. 6, 2024, and charged with homicide and tamper/fabricate bodily proof.
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Stephon Martin Morson, 19, of Austin, Texas, is charged with homicide, however out of jail after his bond was diminished from $800,000 to $100 per cost. (Travis County Jail)
His bond was initially set at $800,000, however it was just lately dropped to $100 for every cost, for a complete of $200, with the situations that Morson put on a GPS monitor, stay beneath home arrest and never contact the household of the sufferer or potential witnesses, CBS Austin first reported.
Austin Police Affiliation President Michael Bullock informed Fox Information Digital that Morson’s punishment was “not enough.”
“For a man accused of murder to have his bond reduced so low that he’s able to walk free is a slap in the face to Austinites who could potentially become the next victim. The revolving door of violent criminals constantly released back onto the streets of Austin is exactly why we have seen violent crime increase,” Bullock mentioned.
He added: “The District Attorney, County Attorney, and Judges here have clearly demonstrated they are not interested in looking after the safety of Austinites nor working with law enforcement. All they are interested in is their own political agenda. We’ve seen criminals released on bond who, while free, kill someone. The real question is when will enough be enough?”
Bullock mentioned this isn’t the primary time Travis County judges and magistrates have drastically diminished bond for an individual accused of homicide or sexual assault.
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott described the discount of Morson’s bond and his subsequent launch as “outrageous.” (Brandon Bell/Getty Photographs)
“This is not exclusive to just one judge. This has happened across multiple different courts,” Bullock mentioned. “We’ve had some where they may not reoffend, but then we’ve had others who do reoffend. People that get out on bond and they murder someone else when they’re already accused of a violent crime.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott additionally commented on Morson’s launch and referred to as the transfer “outrageous.”
“This is outrageous. It’s why I made bail reform an Emergency Item,” Abbott wrote in a put up on X.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick additionally backed Abbott and mentioned he is able to play “hardball” to maintain violent offenders from being launched on bail throughout a particular session final week to go a bail reform bundle.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick advocated for a bail reform bundle at the moment within the state legislature and mentioned violent offenders can’t be launched from jail on bond. (REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado)
On Wednesday, the payments cleared the primary of many obstacles to changing into legislation. The Senate Legal Justice Committee handed the bail reform bundle by a vote of 6-0.
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“I’m grateful that Gov. Abbott declared bail reform an emergency item for the current legislative session. Too many innocent people, both citizens and law enforcement officers, have become targets of criminals due to irresponsible bail amounts that allow violent criminals to go free,” Bullock mentioned. “We are a nation of law and order, but activist judges and prosecutors that are interested in their own agenda rather than the law are eroding that principle.”
Crime victims’ advocates in Texas have been attempting to get harder bail laws on the books for years, particularly in sure instances involving egregious crimes. In years previous, many legal offenders in Harris County have been launched on low bond or no bond in any respect, with some occurring to reoffend, typically violently, based on Rania Mankarious, the CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston.
Fox Information Digital reached out to the Travis County District Lawyer’s Workplace however didn’t instantly obtain a response.
Fox Information Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Stepheny Worth is a author for Fox Information Digital and Fox Enterprise. Story ideas and concepts may be despatched to stepheny.value@fox.com
