Bexar County Judge Warns That Texas Prison's Refusal to Accept Inmates May Fuel Another COVID-19 Outbreak




Texas' refusal to take custody of inmates from local lockups is overcrowding the Bexar County jail and risking another COVID-19 outbreak, County Nelson Wolff warned during a Tuesday evening press briefing.  

Even though Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a spate of orders reopening private businesses, the State of Texas continues to deny transfers of county inmates to its prisons and state hospital system during the pandemic.

What's more, Abbott issued an order in late March blocking judges from releasing some inmates who are unable to make bail. Although the order faced legal challenges, it was upheld last month by the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court.

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Wolff said Bexar County now has custody of 228 inmates that ordinarily would have been transferred to Texas prisons to serve their sentences. Another 98 who were found incompetent to stand trial would normally have been sent to state mental health facilities.

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"We're getting jammed up, which means there's going to be a lot of trouble down the line," Wolff said. "If we could just get the state to meet their responsibilities, that would be a big step forward."

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