CHAMBERS COUNTY, Texas – An attorney for a Chambers County woman accused of murdering her husband has filed an appeal to have her bond reduced from $2 million to $150,000.
Sarah Hartsfield is currently in the Chambers County Jail with a $2 million bond.
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Hartsfield, who has been married five times, was the only person with her 46-year-old husband Joseph Hartsfield when he became unresponsive at their Beach City home in January 2023. The diabetic was rushed to the hospital where he died a week later, the medical examiner’s office ruled due to complications of toxic effects of insulin.
Hartsfield’s bond has already been reduced three times since she has been in jail. She was arrested in February 2023 after being indicted on a murder charge. At that time, her bond was set at $5 million. A motion to reduce her bond was filed and her bond was dropped to $4.5 million on February 9, 2023. A second motion was filed to reduce her bond again in March 2023 and it was dropped to $4 million. Her bond was eventually reduced again to $2 million in October 2023.
In the written request for the appeal, Hartsfield’s attorney argued her $2 million bond is “clearly excessive” and has resulted in Hartsfield being “effectively denied bail.”
Hartsfield’s attorney argued she has the constitutional right to reasonable bail and that the court which issued Hartsfield’s bond has made it impossible for her to make bail. The attorney argues that although murder is a serious offense, Hartsfield’s bond should not be used to keep her in jail with no hope of making bail.
“The trial court effectively used bail as an instrument of oppression, irrespective of whatever subjective intentions the court may have had,” Hartsfield’s attorney argued in court documents.
Hartsfield’s attorney also argues that the state has not provided any evidence that Hartsfield has failed to appear for her court hearings or that she is a danger to the community.
After receiving the defense’s brief, prosecutors will have a chance to respond with their own brief, before a panel of judges from the Court of Appeals will make a decision. Oral arguments are also possible, and there’s no timeline yet for when a decision could be made.
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