State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt on Thursday said she has “grave concerns” about Travis County District Attorney José Garza’s administration amid a growing political and legal firestorm over how the agency handles the most serious crimes.
In a highly unusual rebuke of a fellow Democrat, Eckhardt said, “There is mounting evidence that our district attorney is not vigorously prosecuting cases and that is of grave public safety and also of grave concern for the fairness to the accused.”
In an interview with the American-Statesman, the Austin senator said that she has requested information from Garza and his staff about the number of times they have missed a deadline to indict defendants that led to their release on dramatically reduced bonds.
She said she also would like for Garza to explain the reason for the missed deadlines and how his office will work to remedy the issue.
Garza did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
The comments come after 18-year-old Stephan Morson, accused in a 2024 murder, was released Friday on a $100 bond after his bail was set at $800,000.
The Statesman identified another murder defendant released in December who had his bail reduced from $1 million to $1 and was released from jail.
Family members of homicide victims, left to right, Nancy Bulla, April Aguirre, Alexis Nungaray and Paul Castro, testify at a Senate Committee on Criminal Justice hearing about bail reform at the Capitol Wednesday February 12, 2025.
Morson was taken back into custody on Wednesday after a judge in the case raised his bail to $100,000 after prosecutors presented evidence they said showed he is a danger to the community.
However, Juan Antonio Ramirez remains free on bond and prosecutors have not taken steps to get him back in jail, his attorney Brian Erskine, said Thursday afternoon.
Eckhardt’s comments came the same week that state senators passed a bail reform bill as the missed deadlines took center stage.
She said the issue made it difficult to argue against Republicans’ beliefs that state laws should be altered because dangerous criminals were getting returned to communities.
“What I’m seeing is not a problem with the statutes,” she said. “It is a problem with the office that is supposed to be enforcing the law.”
This is a developing story. More information will be added as it becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas senator issues concerns over Travis Co. district attorney’s office
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