AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County prosecutors missed the deadline to indict felony cases 263 times last year, leaving cases in limbo while defendants remained in jail past the deadline and crime victims waited for justice, a joint KVUE Defenders and Austin American-Statesman analysis found.
The continuing investigation puts a new spotlight on the rights of jailed defendants in some cases, and in others, reveals how potentially violent offenders are being returned to the street because of missed deadlines.
A case-by-case analysis by the KVUE Defenders and the Statesman shows 181 felony suspects in Travis County stayed behind bars last year past the legal window for prosecutors to seek an indictment against them. Some defendants ultimately had their cases rejected or dismissed. Others, including dozens suspected of violent crimes, were released from jail, sometimes delaying and possibly denying victims justice, the analysis found…