Pubdate: Mon, 16 Sep 2013
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Section: Front page
Copyright: 2013 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Author: Lise Olsen

IN JAIL SYSTEM, CLASS DEFINES FATE

Criminal defendants too poor to bail out of jail prior to trial
typically end up with a harsher punishment in Harris County than those
with resources to pay for their freedom, according to a new study of
more than 6,500 cases.

The study showed that the poor and others locked up weeks or months
pretrial often pay in advance for alleged crimes - even when proven
innocent - and usually end up with tougher punishments, too, according
to an analysis by Gerald R. Wheeler, a Ph.D. researcher who served as
director of the Harris County pretrial department from 1977-83.
Wheeler and attorney Gerald Fry examined felony and misdemeanor cases
processed in Harris County from January 2012 to June 2013.

Many defendants unable to post bond spent weeks or months in jail
awaiting punishment even for relatively minor offenses, such as
possession of small amounts of drugs or misdemeanor charges like
trespassing.

For example, first-time felony offenders who were unable to post bond
spent an average of 68 days in jail before having their cases
resolved, the study showed. Those who remained jailed for drug
possession - a common charge among Harris County jail inmates - were
much less likely to win dismissals or deferred prosecutions than those
able to afford to bail out, the study showed.

"Regardless of age, ethnicity or color of skin of over 90,000 people
annually arrested, what generally determines the defendants' fate is
his or her economic status," Wheeler argues in the report, though he
did not interview defendants about why they did not post bond. Tougher
judges

Other national studies have found that criminal defendants unable to
post bond are generally poor and more often plead guilty or accept
longer sentences for a variety of reasons. Many become depressed and
lose jobs, homes or family relationships while being detained prior to
being adjudicated, while those on bond often can better continue with
their lives.

Hispanics, AfricanAmericans and white defendants alike who remained
jailed all received tougher punishments than defendants who were
released on bond, the study showed.

However, AfricanAmericans more often remained jailed pretrial, even
when they faced similar charges and had similar criminal histories as
Anglos or Hispanics.

Caprice Cosper, a judge who serves as director of the Harris County
Office of Criminal Justice Coordination, declined to comment on the
findings. But Cosper said the processing and pleas of first-time and
drug offenders, the jailing of the mentally ill and other issues
raised by the study have long been recognized by local leaders, who
have created programs and continue to explore new ways to address them.

Harris County judges have long been recognized as being significantly
tougher than judges nationwide on jailing defendants pretrial. Last
year, judges agreed to release only 1 percent of those arrested on
felony charges and only 7 percent of those arrested on misdemeanors on
socalled personal recognizance. Most defendants released, therefore,
had to pay bondsmen nonrefundable fees.

By comparison, judges elsewhere released approximately 26 percent of
felony defendants without requiring bond, according to a 2006 survey
of 75 urban areas by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Some defendants who insisted on their innocence end up spending the
most time in jail awaiting trials, 2012 data shows. 8 months in jail

In one case, a homeless man, Johnnie Mason, then 55, was arrested in
March 2012 after being accused by an ex-girlfriend of striking her
with a 2x4 board. Mason, who was held without bond, spent eight months
in jail before being acquitted on felony assault charges when his
attorney exposed oddities in the victim's rambling account.

Mason's attorney, Michael E. Trent, declined to discuss whether
prosecutors offered Mason a plea deal. However, Trent said he has
represented many others who felt pressured to plea after being jailed
pretrial, including some with innocence claims or legitimate legal
defenses.

Though attorneys and judges review potential consequences of guilty
pleas, Trent said younger offenders often fail to grasp the long-term
impact that even a misdemeanor conviction can have on the ability to
win a scholarship, get a job or, for immigrants, avoid
deportation.

In another case, Carlos Mathis, 42, an AfricanAmerican from Houston
with a history of minor drug and theft offenses, waited seven months
in jail, unable to post bond. Ultimately, a felony charge of drug
possession was dismissed in March 2013 after an officer involved in
his arrest failed to show up in court or produce a search warrant,
court records show. Mathis' attorney did not respond to a request for
comment.

Wheeler found that some misdemeanor offenders who were detained
longest prior to trial were found to be mentally incompetent. Some
spent one to three months jailed after being arrested for minor
offenses like trespassing before being transferred to institutions -
including Sharon, a 57-year-old homeless woman who spent 35 days in
jail before being found incompetent and transferred to a state
hospital last year, public records show.

Floyd Jennings, an attorney in the Harris County public defender's
office who specializes in mental health cases, said he and his staff
work with police and others to get non-violent mentally ill offenders
freed from jail and into treatment as soon as possible.

However, he said delays seem unavoidable since some people become
competent after receiving a few weeks of medicine or food. Added to
that, competency tests can take 30 days to schedule.

Defendants declared incompetent can end up being shipped to mental
hospitals as far away as San Antonio and Big Spring, Jennings said,
because of a shortage of beds, and some get released too soon - and
end up jailed again.
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