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Texas teen charged with murder released after bond reduced from $800K to $100 per charge: 'This is outrageous'
A Texas teen accused of murder was released from police custody after his bond was drastically reduced from $800,000 to $100 per charge.
Stephon Martin Morson, 19, was released from the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas, on Saturday after he posted bail.
Morson is accused in the shooting death of 20-year-old Keshawn Cage, who police found with a gunshot wound to the head back in October.
The Travis County Jail told Fox News Digital that Morson was booked on Nov. 6, 2024, and charged with murder and tamper/fabricate physical evidence.
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His bond was originally set at $800,000, but it was recently dropped to $100 for each charge, for a total of $200, with the conditions that Morson wear a GPS monitor, remain under house arrest and not contact the family of the victim or potential witnesses, CBS Austin first reported.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock told Fox News Digital that Morson's punishment was "not enough."
"For a man accused of murder to have his bond reduced so low that he’s able to walk free is a slap in the face to Austinites who could potentially become the next victim. The revolving door of violent criminals constantly released back onto the streets of Austin is exactly why we have seen violent crime increase," Bullock said.
He added: "The District Attorney, County Attorney, and Judges here have clearly demonstrated they are not interested in looking after the safety of Austinites nor working with law enforcement. All they are interested in is their own political agenda. We’ve seen criminals released on bond who, while free, kill someone. The real question is when will enough be enough?"
Bullock said this is not the first time Travis County judges and magistrates have drastically reduced bond for a person accused of murder or sexual assault.
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"This is not exclusive to just one judge. This has happened across multiple different courts," Bullock said. "We’ve had some where they may not reoffend, but then we’ve had others who do reoffend. People that get out on bond and they murder someone else when they’re already accused of a violent crime."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also commented on Morson's release and called the move "outrageous."
"This is outrageous. It's why I made bail reform an Emergency Item," Abbott wrote in a post on X.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also backed Abbott and said he is ready to play "hardball" to keep violent offenders from being released on bail during a special session last week to pass a bail reform package.
On Wednesday, the bills cleared the first of many obstacles to becoming law. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee passed the bail reform package by a vote of 6-0.
"I’m grateful that Gov. Abbott declared bail reform an emergency item for the current legislative session. Too many innocent people, both citizens and law enforcement officers, have become targets of criminals due to irresponsible bail amounts that allow violent criminals to go free," Bullock said. "We are a nation of law and order, but activist judges and prosecutors that are interested in their own agenda rather than the law are eroding that principle."
Crime victims' advocates in Texas have been trying to get tougher bail legislation on the books for years, especially in certain cases involving egregious crimes. In years past, many criminal offenders in Harris County were released on low bond or no bond at all, with some going on to reoffend, sometimes violently, according to Rania Mankarious, the CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital's Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
