HOUSTON – Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg joined law-enforcement officials, prosecutors and families of murder victims Wednesday to discuss a new state law that takes effect Friday, requiring trial courts to make murder trials a priority, according to a release.
Ogg said she hoped the law, sponsored by state Sen. John Whitmire, would help reduce the backlog of murder cases that has climbed to more than 1,800 in recent years. She warned that continued delays in testing evidence at area crime labs, specifically at the Houston Forensic Science Center, may counter that progress.
“We at the District Attorney’s Office are ready. Our friends in law enforcement are ready,” Ogg said. “Now we need the City of Houston to ensure that our evidence is ready.”
Ogg and others also discussed other potential solutions to reducing jail crowding and court backlogs.
During the news conference, she was joined by Doug Griffith, the president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, and by Leticia Ybarra and Alison Steele, whose young daughters were murdered in 2020 and 2017.
According to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, families of murder victims now must wait an average of three and a half years for their cases to reach trial.
More than 1,800 murder cases were pending in Harris County as of Aug. 22, 2023, with nearly half of those suspects remaining at large, either as fugitives or on bond, the DA’s Office stated in a release.
“Murder trials are a public safety necessity,” Ogg said. “Without significant progress on these trials, we and our neighbors are at risk from extremely dangerous suspects and our jail remains overcrowded with those in custody awaiting trial.”
The Houston Forensic Science Center released a statement to KPRC 2:
“The Houston Forensic Science Center is aware of the passage of S.B. 402. President & CEO Dr. Peter Stout was involved in the legislative session, identifying the potential impacts on forensic labs around the state and the difficulties of balancing conflicting legislated priorities of sexual assaults and homicides. HFSC continues to provide a clear and transparent picture of the organization’s turnaround times and backlogs, so the various criminal justice partners are properly informed. HFSC also continues to work with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to prioritize cases when the organization is made aware of court dates. The entire system is challenged and demands proactive planning and cooperation by all the agencies. At this time, Dr. Peter Stout is unavailable to provide further interviews/comments on this matter this evening.”
-Sandra Ham, Public Information Officer