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Early voting ends this Friday, and among the many propositions that Texans have been weighing in on is ballot Proposition 3. It's been hailed by both activists and Governor Abbott as a major step toward ending the violent crime crisis.
So what exactly is Proposition 3? Well, it's a proposed constitutional amendment that would give judges more leeway when it comes to denying bail. Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers explained, "Currently, the only offense where a judge can uniformly deny bond is capital murder, when the state is seeking the death penalty."
He says that rule has been used as an excuse for years by light-on-crime judges, who turn around and set incredibly low bonds, or sometimes even $0 bonds, for violent offenders. He said, "It removes the excuse, which is 'I have no choice.' We're going to give you a choice, and when you make the choice, it will be public."
But will any of this actually work? Former HPD Captain Dr. Greg Fremin thinks so. He explained, "The vast majority of all crimes are committed by a very small, select group of people. One offender, a violent offender, can create mayhem.
So to ensure that he's locked up and not back out on the street again is going to be a great thing." Dr. Fremin also says this will be a major paradigm shift for judges across the state. He said, "This is going to send a loud message. My hope is that it's going to change the culture among these radical judges that are being elected."