One of the two illegal alien suspects charged in the murder of Houston 12-year old Jocelyn Nungaray is now asking for a protective order to ensure the media attention the case has gotten won’t prevent him from having a fair trial.
Franklin Peña’s attorneys have filed the order “preventing the parties to this cause, law enforcement officials, the Houston Forensic Science Center, or court personnel from making extrajudicial statements or otherwise disseminating information concerning this cause [sic] by any means of public communications.”
The motion, also said, “The additional extra-judicial statements to the news media are likely to produce a result of undue prejudice in the community to deprive the Defendant of a fair trial guaranteed by Article I of the Texas Constitution and the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution."
Peña’s attorneys also claim that Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg made speculative and prejudicial comments on the case when she told KPRC 2, “All cases evolve and we file charges early because we want those dangerous defendants in custody. We don’t wait for all of the evidence to make the initial charge, because we want to protect the public, and we want to give the victim’s family some assurance that these monsters are not going to flee the jurisdiction.”
The murder has led to the proposal of the 'Justice for Jocelyn' act, proposed by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Troy Nehls.