Pretrial Reform Efforts and their Use in Texas

Throughout the era of mass incarceration much attention has been paid to the collateral consequences of imprisonment. However, recent progressive approaches have shifted the focus from conviction to selection into the system and the (unlawful) detainment of individuals at the pretrial stage. While jurisdictions across the U.S. have adopted risk assessments to inform pretrial decision-making, many question whether the use of such tools can truly provide unbiased evaluations. In turn, criminal justice agencies have begun utilizing other strategies to curb the detention of those imprisoned due to unaffordable bail. This thesis seeks to document pretrial reform efforts that have taken place across Texas while focusing specifically on local cite and release initiatives. In addition, it also provides the findings from semi-structured, in-depth interviews of members of a local grassroots community organization that highlight the role of social activism in local criminal justice reform.

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Criminal Justice and Criminology

Grantor

Texas State University

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Merschel, Gabriella

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Arnio, Ashley N.

• pretrial reform
• Texas
• cite and release
• reform

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10877/16460

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/16460