The Hays County Commissioner's Court voted unanimously to create a public defender's office in the county.
The goal of the office is to reduce those extraordinarily long pretrial detention times, and improve the justice system for low income familiesOn Tuesday, Cyrus Gray III stood before the Hays County Commissioner's Court and cried as he explained that Thursday will mark the first Thanksgiving he’s spent with his family since 2017.
The Texas State graduate was held for nearly five years pretrial in the Hays County Jail. He said his story is "not unique." Gray said his first public defender met with him only "two to three times" in a nearly three-year time span. He said the attorney repeatedly told him to take a 45-year plea deal.
Tuesday commissioner's court voted unanimously to create a public defender's office in the county. Gray believes it is a good first step to ensure adequate representation for all and cut down the county’s long pretrial detention times. On November 20, 83 percent of the jail population was being held pretrial. Black and Hispanic people made up nearly 17 percent of the jail population but only account for only approximately 5 percent of Hays County residents.
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