Houston Chronicle by St. John Barned-Smith and Gabrielle Banks 4/3/2020
The sheriff halted release of Harris County Jail inmates Friday afternoon after District Judge Herb Ritchie voided an order to free low-risk people to fight the spread of COVID-19 at the lockup.
Inmates deemed low risk began to be released from the jail Thursday night and Friday morning, following Judge Lina Hidalgo’s decision to free hundreds of inmates to try to prevent a widespread outbreak of coronavirus within the facility.
Hidalgo earlier this week ordered Sheriff Ed Gonzalez to prepare a list of inmates accused of certain nonviolent offenses and who did not have previous convictions for violent crimes. That list was being reviewed and pared down by other county departments, and, according to an estimate by the sheriff’s lawyer, only about one in eight people would make the cut.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-Jail-releases-get-under-way-to-15177262.php
