WHEREAS, the first duty of the state is to protect its law-abiding citizenry and to punish the evil-doer; and
WHEREAS, a state that fails to uphold this duty by inordinately punishing ordinary citizens while failing to restrain violent offenders, abandons this duty and creates conditions of anarcho-tyranny; and
WHEREAS, equity, disparate-impact theory, and the identity of the accused have been used to justify lighter charging and sentencing for violent offenders, in effect building a protected class of predators over the law-abiding middle class; and
WHEREAS, unduly monitoring of the law-abiding is not a substitute for the state’s duty to find, prosecute, and incarcerate the violent; and
WHEREAS, an analysis of Harris County District Clerk records show that from January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2024, Harris County filed 162 homicide cases against defendants who were on one or more bonds at the time of the alleged murder [1]; and
WHEREAS, in June 2024, 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was sexually assaulted and killed in Houston, and the two Venezuelan nationals charged in her death, Johan Jose Martinez Rangel and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, had been apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso earlier in 2024 and released with a notice to appear [2]; and
WHEREAS, the 89th Legislature enacted Senate Bill 9, signed on June 16, 2025, to tighten pretrial release, thus any remaining failure sits with the prosecutors, trial judges, and magistrates who still release the violent [3]; and
WHEREAS, HB 163, which died in committee, would have created a civil cause of action against a judge or magistrate who improperly releases a defendant on personal bond in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure. If the defendant commits a violent offense while released, the victim may sue the judge for up to $10 million, eliminating Judicial immunity as a defense [4];
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Young Republicans of Texas condemn two-tiered justice and the anarcho-tyranny that produces it; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Young Republicans of Texas call on Governor Abbot, the Attorney General, the Texas Legislature, county district attorneys, and the trial judges and magistrates of this state to oppose prosecutor leniency, catch-and-release of violent offenders, and any charging or sentencing policy based on the identity of the accused rather than the offense and the evidence; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that those same officers make prosecution and incarceration of the violent the public-safety policy of Texas, and reject any policy that substitutes monitoring of the law-abiding for punishment of the guilty; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Young Republicans of Texas call on the Texas legislature to pass HB 163 and further to adopt legislation which would not only open judges and prosecutors to civil suite, but end unqualified immunity and hold them criminally liable for crimes committed by violent offenders with a significant criminal record while out on bond.
Bibliography
Glenda Gordy Research Center, Crime Stoppers of Houston, “Bail Legislation in 2025,” data retrieved from the Harris County District Clerk on January 25, 2025. https://portal.theglendagordyresearchcenter.com/EmergingCrimeTrendsPictures/blogcontents/Murder%20on%20Bond%20Report_Final.pdf
Houston Landing, September 10, 2024, “As the capital murder case of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray goes to court, here’s what to know.” https://www.houstonlanding.org/as-the-capital-murder-case-of-12-year-old-jocelyn-nungaray-goes-to-court-heres-what-to-know/
Texas Legislature Online, 89th Legislature, Senate Bill 9, signed June 16, 2025. https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=89R&Bill=SB9
https://www.texaspolicyresearch.com/bills/89th-legislature-2nd-special-session-hb-163/