AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Travis County District Attorney’s Office obtained more than 9,500 felony convictions from 2021 through 2023, and 57% resulted in a local jail sentence, according to Office of Court Administration, or OCA, data.
OCA data shows no other county in Texas sentenced more people to local jail for felony offenses than Travis County did during this period.
According to the Texas Penal Code, a local jail sentence of 365 days or less is typically the punishment range for misdemeanor-level offenses.
KXAN analyzed sentencing data obtained through public information requests as well as publicly available data to see what the punishment for felony convictions looked like in Travis County.
Chart showing the types of sentences imposed for felony convictions from 2021-2023 in Travis County. Source: Texas Judicial Branch, Office of Courts Administration. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey)
According to OCA data, a felony conviction in Travis County during this time is much less likely to land you in prison compared to other counties in Texas.
Chart showing state and county comparisons of sentence types from felony convictions. Source: Texas Judicial Branch, Office of Courts Administration. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey)
KXAN provided this data and requested a comment from Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza.
In response, his office stated:
“Over the last three years, the District Attorney’s Office has focused on holding accountable people who commit acts of violence and addressing the root causes of violence. Over the last three years, we have put in place new strategies to prevent gun violence, increased the number of sexual assault convictions, and begun to reduce our reliance on incarceration. As a result, this is one of the safest communities in the country.”
With nearly double the felony sentences resulting in local jail time and less than half resulting in prison sentences compared to statewide percentages, KXAN analyzed current inmate and sentencing data from OCA, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, or TDCJ, and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office to break down the punishments for people convicted of certain felony offenses in Travis County.
OCA Data: Sentences for Violent, Sexual and Felony DWI Offenses
According to OCA data, more than 3,000 convictions obtained by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office from 2021 through 2023 involved violent or sexual offenses.
Chart showing count of deferred adjudications and convictions by type in Travis County from 2021-2023. Source: Texas Judicial Branch, Office of Courts Administration. (KXAN Interactive/Dal ton Huey)
Violent and sexual offenses accounted for more than half of all the cases that resulted in deferred adjudication agreements, according to OCA. Under those agreements, if a person meets all the requirements set forth, they will not have a conviction on their record and often may work to have the case removed from their public record.
OCA data shows the majority of offenses disposed for assault and family violence-related charges resulted in a local jail sentence or deferred adjudication.
KXAN also found felony DWI convictions resulted in probation or community supervision in more than 70% of the cases.
Chart showing Travis County felony sentence type by offense categories from 2021-2023. Source: Texas Judicial Branch, Office of Courts Administration. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey)
KXAN reached out to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to “End drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes, and prevent underage drinking,” about the number of felony DWI convictions in Travis County resulting in probation.
In response, a spokesperson stated: “MADD believes that anyone who makes the dangerous choice to drink and drive should be held accountable for this 100% preventable, violent crime.”
MADD further noted that it currently lacks comprehensive data on the outcomes of DWI cases in Travis County compared to the rest of Texas, and that it strongly advocates for stricter impaired driving laws as drunk driving deaths have increased by 42% nationwide since 2019, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
TDCJ incarceration data and crime rate
In the three years from 2021 through 2023, 16% (1,524) of all convictions obtained by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office resulted in a sentence to prison, according to OCA data.
Travis County District Courts resumed in-person jury trials and dockets on Feb. 28, 2022, as a result of COVID-19 delays.
OCA data shows 403 convictions resulted in a prison sentence in 2021.
Travis County Felony prison sentences by year, according to OCA:
2021: 403 (26%)
2022: 464 (30%)
2023: 657 (43%)
As of December 2023, data shows 757 people in the custody of TDCJ who have been convicted and sentenced since 2021, indicating half of those originally sentenced to prison since 2021 have been released.
Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey)
With a population of over 1.3 million, Travis County has become the fifth largest county in the state behind Bexar, Tarrant, Dallas and Harris Counties.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Reporting System, the 2023 crime rate in Travis County is worse than Tarrant and nearly matches Dallas County. The below list shows the crime rate per 100,000 people, with the total population in parentheses.
Tarrant: 3,760 (Population – 2,204,981)
Travis: 4,586.4 (Population – 1,362,220)
Dallas: 4,728.2 (Population – 2,626,612)
Harris: 5,805.7 (Population – 4,872,165)
Bexar: 6,485.5 (Population – 2,116,800)
Chart showing the count of inmates who were sentenced to prison in TDCJ from 2021-2023 by county. Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice. (KXAN Interactive/Dalton Huey)
Election ahead
Early voting for the Travis County 2024 Joint Primary Elections begins in less than one month.
DA Garza faces two opponents in this year’s run for reelection: Daniel Betts and Jeremy Sylestine.
KXAN obtained video footage from a forum earlier this month where DA Garza, Betts and Sylestine had the opportunity to speak and field questions.
Both Betts and Sylestine expressed their concerns about Garza’s administration and crime in Austin.
“Over the past three years, we’ve seen a shift with misguided policies and priorities that are wrong for Travis County,” Sylestine said.
It’s a sentiment that Betts agreed with, further stating “we cannot afford another four years of this violence in our community.”
In response, Garza stated he believed he can and is fixing Travis County’s “broken criminal justice system,” citing new strategies to prevent gun violence, an increase in sexual assault convictions, and by holding violent criminals accountable.
KXAN provided Sylestine and Betts its findings related to this story and requested a comment from each candidate.
In response, Republican candidate Betts stated:
“We know Garza lied about his violent felony conviction rate and that it is actually only 35%, and if only 16% of his convictions actually result in prison time, that means that a violent criminal knows there is less than a 6% chance they will go to prison when they choose to change their victim’s life forever. This is no deterrent at all and represents a serious dereliction of the duty of his office.
There is no good way to spin these numbers, but look for him to again brazenly try to lie about his statistics and pull the wool over the eyes of Travis voters. People are starting to wake up to the reality of what his policies actually mean for our community, and I am confident that across the political spectrum they will choose in November to say no to Garza and the outside interests that fund his destructive spree.”
Democratic candidate Sylestine provided KXAN the following statement:
“It’s clear from the data that citizens in Austin and across Travis County are far less safe than before José Garza was elected as District Attorney. Since he took office, Garza’s dangerous, soft-on-crime policies have resulted in less lenient sentencing for violent crimes, allowing more felons and violent criminals on our streets. Under Garza’s failed leadership, criminal charges are now being rejected in many cases and some suspects are being released before they ever appear before a judge in Travis County.
José Garza’s version of Austin is not the safe and prosperous community that generations have enjoyed and which attracts people from all over the country and the world as a place to live, work, and raise their families. It’s time for a change in leadership at the DA’s Office, at the DA’s Office, and through my experience inside the system, I will work to prosecute violent crimes and get Travis County back on track.”
Garza did not comment specifically on his opponents’ statements when KXAN asked his office for a response. KXAN will update this story when we receive a response. But he did share details on crime in the community and a commitment to justice in Austin:
“Austin has a lower violent crime rate than Amarillo, Beaumont, and Lubbock and has the lowest rate of violent crime of any major city in the State of Texas,” his office shared in a statement. “Since our administration took office in 2021, homicides are down 20 percent and violent crime overall is down 10 percent. Over the next four years, the District Attorney’s Office will continue to ensure our community is safer and more just.”
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