May 4, 2020      3:30 PM

War of words heats up over prisoners who contracted coronavirus housed in Fort Bend County

Rep. Stephenson asks whether Fort Bend County Judge KP George is “trying to stoke fear”; George says TDCJ “should find a different facility in a less populated area of the state”

Saying Fort Bend County Judge KP George is “misleading” the public, Rep. Phil Stephenson, R-Wharton, on Monday lashed out at the Democratic leader of his neighboring county over the issue of inmates who contracted COVID-19 and are now being housed at the prison in Richmond. Judge George was quick to respond to Rep. Stephenson, saying the move by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice complicates efforts to restart the economy in the state’s tenth largest county.

As of last week, TDCJ had moved more than 30 such prisoners from around the state to the Jester Unit in Richmond. Those prisoners, TDCJ says, had contracted coronavirus and are now recovering after they were discharged from hospitals but are not healthy enough to go back to the prisons where they were previously held.

Rep. Stephenson, who serves on the Texas House Corrections Committee, said Judge George “stunned me” with his comment that “the State of Texas has been using Fort Bend County as a dumping ground for convicted criminals with coronavirus.”

By Scott Braddock

Copyright May 04, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved