Abbott signs Damon Allen bail reform bill to 'ensure Texas communities are safe, secure'

Gov. Greg Abbott came to Houston on Sept. 13 for a visit during which he signed the Damon Allen Act into a bail reform bill.

The Senate Bill 6 or the Damon Allen Act, which is now a law, prohibits releasing people who have been charged with a violent offense on personal bond or who are charged while on bail. This law will also provide the judges with more criminal history of the defendant before they set bail.

"Proud to sign the Damon Allen Act into law this morning at the Safer Houston Summit. This law will reform our broken bail system and help keep our communities safe and secure," Abbott tweeted. 

This act was passed during the second special session of the year. This will require the defendants to be granted bail and denied if deemed necessary within 48 hours of arrest.

"The Damon Allen Act ensures Texas communities are safe and secure by making it harder for dangerous criminals to be released on bail," Abbott said in a press release.

As per the sources, the governor had given this bill a special priority during the second session, and some of the Democrats were unwilling to accept it on the grounds that the poor people would be affected by it. They believed that some might be kept in jail unnecessarily even when they haven't committed any violent crimes.

"We want to see a process that nonviolent defendants that are presumed innocent don't have to linger and sit in jail if they don't have to. And I think that's what we want to see, and some comprehensive bail reform that hasn't happened yet in Texas," Rep. Ron Reynolds said.

The governor was attending the Texas Pastor Council's Safer Houston Summit where he signed the bill into law.

The law's namesake was a state trooper killed on Thanksgiving Day 2017 while conducting a traffic stop. Dabrett Black, 36, was out on bail when he was accused of shooting and killing the victim. Previously, Black had resisted arrest when he was accused and convicted for assaulting a public officer. However, Black's bond arrest was set only at $15,000.

If the judge had known about this previous conviction, his bail amount might have been more. According to this new law, such information will be provided to the judges and magistrates.