As the Dallas community reflects on the tragic murder of two hospital employees gunned down by a parolee while at work at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, many, including Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, are directing their outrage at what they call a “broken” criminal justice system.
The two employees, nurses in the maternity ward, were shot and killed by 30-year-old convicted criminal Nestor Hernandez. Methodist Health System police soon intervened and shot Hernandez, injuring and incapacitating him.
Hernandez was currently on parole for a 2015 aggravated robbery conviction, for which he received a jail sentence of 8 years, and was wearing an active, court-ordered ankle monitor at the time of the shooting.
“Most prisoners in Texas become eligible for parole before their sentence ends. Once eligible, inmates can be released on parole,” according to the Shouse California Law Group. “After release, the inmate is put on community supervision. People can then spend the rest of their sentence on parole. If the terms of parole are violated, however, the parolee can be sent back to prison.”
Hernandez had been arrested twice in 2022 while out on parole. Both times he was released back into the public.
After news broke of Hernandez’s killings, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia tweeted, “Our hearts @DallasPD go out to the those affected by this tragedy, I’m outraged along with our community, at the lack of accountability, and the travesty of the fact that under this broken system, we give violent criminals more chances, than our victims.”
“The pendulum has swung too far,” his tweet concluded.
Our hearts @DallasPD go out to the those affected by this tragedy,I’m outraged along with our community,at the lack of accountability,and the travesty of the fact that under this broken system,we give violent criminals more chances,than our victims.The pendulum has swung too far. https://t.co/zwJp3cMasv
— Eddie Garcia (@DPDChiefGarcia) October 23, 2022
Meanwhile, District Attorney John Creuzot tweeted out a statement on his official office account that began, “I remain sickened, stunned, and heartbroken by the senseless shooting at Methodist Hospital,” but quickly turned to the defensive.
“Despite reports to the contrary, parole decisions and conditions are not made by the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office or any judicial officer of Dallas County but by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles,” Creuzot said in his statement.
Dallas County Judge, and fellow Democrat, Clay Jenkins retweeted Creuzot’s official statement and used the opportunity to take a shot at Republican Governor Greg Abbott, stating, “Decision to release the suspect on ankle monitor parole was made by Texas Board of Pardons and Parole appointed by Gov. Abbott, not by the any Assistant DA or Judge in Dallas County.”
However, despite these claims by Creuzot and Jenkins, prosecuting attorneys do have a role in parole decisions made by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (TBPP). Since Hernandez’s original conviction for aggravated assault occurred in Dallas County, when he was up for review by TBPP for potential release in October 2021, Creuzot’s office would have been contacted to participate in the hearing.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in a FAQ about parole, “When an offender enters the parole review process and prior to an offender’s scheduled release, the Parole Division notifies the trial officials (district judge, sheriff, and prosecuting attorney) of the county of conviction, the police chiefs of the county of conviction, the county in which the offense was committed (in cases with a change of venue), and the county to which the offender is to be released.”
“These parties are notified in advance of the scheduled parole review in order to solicit their comments regarding the individual’s release,” TDCJ continues.
The website goes on to say, “All correspondence regarding an offender, whether written in support of or in opposition to parole, will be added to the offender’s permanent file and will be available to the parole panel at the time of parole deliberations… Each objection is carefully weighed on its own merits.”
The motivation for Creuzot’s defensive statement is likely related to the fact that his Republican challenger, Faith Johnson, recently dubbed the sitting-District Attorney ‘Let-em-Go’ Creuzot because of his stance on ending so-called “mass incarceration” through not prosecuting some crimes and his permissive stance on releasing of criminals or people awaiting trial.
The Dallas Express reached out to Creuzot’s office and inquired whether he participated in the parole hearings for Hernandez and, if so, how. As of the writing of this article, we have not heard back.
While Creuzot and Jenkins point fingers at Abbott, Dallas Police Chief Garcia did not pull any punches with his criticism of where he felt blame resides.
“This is a tragedy, and an abhorrent failure of our criminal justice system,” Garcia tweeted.
The justice system is a mess that inmate should have gotten a 25-year sentence for having a 3rd felony conviction and once he violated his parole, he should have been sent back to prison to serve out his sentence. The prosecutor that pleaded down to 8 years should be suited for wrongly death, and the parole board too!!!
Further proof that Creuzot and Jenkins must go!
They’re not the ones releasing these criminals from prison.
Do your homework.
Governor Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole are responsible for letting these criminals out on the streets.
Why was he not sent back after being arrested twice? He should still be in jail. That is local. And is part of this current move to let felons have more chances than the victims.
Why was he not prosecuted for the two crimes while out on parole? Why didn’t Cruezot oppose the parole? That was Cruezot’s fault.
This is exactly why we need Faith Johnson. Criminals need to be held accountable. Creuzot spells Danger for Dallas! Get him out!
If Faith Johnson was DA,Amber Geiger would not be in prison, FJ a mammy for master.
What is preventing the facts of the release decision from being made public? Ultimately, who voted for / who voted against the release, and who participated in the hearing prior to the vote? THEN we can learn how they got their jobs, what their stances are on crime, whether we should remove those involved from their positions. Right now, all I know is pardons come from a 3 person parole panel vote inside the TDC and now that Dallas County should have had input to the panel. Thank you Dallas Express!
There are plenty of ignorant people that elected Creuzot and Jenkins in the first place. And they are the problem and the reason that both will probably be re-elected. Doing the same thing and expecting a different reason, the definition of insanity.
The blame lies at the top.
The buck stops there.
The nine member board of pardons and parole appointed by Governor Abbott makes the final decision, period.
Stop blaming local officials for Governor Abbott and his board members poor decisions.
Sorry but the buck stops at the bottom. Poe Poe at the top can only use the input from the locals. If the locals failed to give input then how are they to make a decision
While we cannot undo the past we certainly are able to make sure the present and future does follow the laws as written. Think smart but vote smarter.
Are all democrats stupid? It looks like it to me
More like evil.
Democrat politicians are evil. Democrat voters make Forrest Gump look like Albert Einstein.
The Republicans are in charge of releasing these criminals.
The Board of Pardons and Parole is appointed by Republican Greg Abbott.
They have the final say on who is released from prison.
One of the problems is space. Perhaps we need to build more prisons.
Yes!
Vote in New leadership for Texas.
I know a guy that got the 3 strikes your out sentence,which was life.11 months later he was at work at my friends business.they can’t make money with an honest man
The victim or victims are also contacted when a convict is considered for parole.
Sure, they can make a comment. But the final decision rests with liberal morons.
No, stupid!
The final decision is left to the 9 members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole appointed by Governor Abbott.
and you think these victims are the ones who keep letting criminals out early ???? Dumb
This liberal District Attorney is a joke as is liberal Clay Jenkins!!. Get them out of government jobs!! Don’t vote for any liberal PLEASE!.,
if you can’t make it, I will fill end for you
First of all how in the world did the person of interest get into the hospital with a gun in the first place.
I just hope all of the Powers and above get this system to work.
The problem does not seem to be that he was paroled, but that he violated his parole and was arrested twice and not returned to prison. Who decided NOT to return him to prison. Maybe we should build a few more prisons and keep these guys longer.
Which county did Hernandez’s two arrests take place in 2022 and was the Dallas DAs office advised of this?