After Election Loss Texas Judge Randomly Releases Juvenile Defendants
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - A day after losing his re-election bid, a Texas judge released nearly all of the juvenile defendants who appeared before him after asking them whether they intended to kill anyone.
Harris County prosecutors expressed concerns after Judge Glenn Devlin made the decision Wednesday in Houston. The juveniles face charges ranging from misdemeanors to violent crimes, including aggravated robbery.
The Houston Chronicle reports the longtime Republican jurist rescheduled the cases for the first week in January, after the Democrat who beat him -- Natalia Oakes -- in Tuesday's election takes the bench.
It's unclear how many juveniles were released, but officials said there were at least seven.
District Attorney Kim Ogg released a statement saying prosecutors opposed "the wholesale release of violent offenders at any age." Ogg said the move "could endanger the public."
Devlin declined comment to the newspaper.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)