Gov. Abbott signs GOP bail bill - the Damon Allen Act - into law in Houston

Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a bill into law that limits the ability of defendants to be released on cashless bail and provides judges with more information about their criminal histories when setting bail. The Republican-backed legislation was named after Damon Allen, a state trooper who was gunned down in 2017 while conducting a routine traffic stop. At a bill-signing ceremony in Houston on Monday morning, Abbott was joined by Allen’s widow, Kasey Allen, as he vowed that the new law would “keep dangerous criminals behind bars” and “fix the broken bail system” that allows defendants to walk free as they await trial. A Houston Chronicle investigation found that in 2020, more than 18,000 Harris County defendants were charged with new felonies and misdemeanors while out on bond, three times as many as in 2015.

“You have revolving-door releases of dangerous criminals back out onto streets who then go commit even more crimes,” Abbott said. “The Damon Allen Act makes it harder for dangerous criminals to be released from jail on bail.” Abbott, a former civil district court judge in Harris County, made clear the bill was aimed at Houston, where he said there is a “serious crime issue…more so than any other part of the state of Texas.” He did not take questions from reporters after his remarks. Democrats and civil rights groups that opposed the bill argue it will do little to curtail violent crime, as most people accused of murder while out on bond in Harris County had secured their release by paying bail, the Chronicle investigation found. The bill’s restrictions apply only to no-cost and low-cost bonds, meaning those who can afford to post bail will still be able to do so under the new law. The law would not have prevented Dabrett Black, the man charged with Damon Allen’s murder, from posting the $15,500 bond he had used to get out of jail after allegedly assaulting a deputy in Smith County earlier that year.