Texas Teen Charged with Murder Released on $100 Bond Per Charge After Drastic Reduction

A boy from Texas who was charged with murder was freed after his bond was lowered from $800,000 to $100 per charge.

When Stephon Martin Morson, 19, paid his bail, he was let out of the Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.

It is alleged that Morson killed 20-year-old Keshawn Cage by shooting him in the head. Cage was found dead in October by cops.

Fox News Digital was told by the Travis County Jail that Morson was booked on November 6, 2024, and charged with murder and tampering with or making up physical evidence.

His bond was originally set at $800,000, but it was recently lowered to $100 for each charge, for a total of $200. Morson must now wear a GPS monitor, stay under house arrest, and not contact the victim’s family or possible witnesses, according to the first story from CBS Austin.

Chief Michael Bullock of the Austin Police Association told Fox News Digital that Morson’s sentence was “not enough.”

“Lowering a man’s bond so low that he can walk free on murder charges is an insult to the people of Austin who could become the next death victim.” Bullock said, “The constant release of violent criminals back onto the streets of Austin is the exact reason why violent crime has gone up.”

He also said, “It is clear that the District Attorney, County Attorney, and Judges here do not care about the safety of Austinites or want to work with law enforcement.” They are only interested in their own party plans. We’ve seen crooks get out on bond and then kill someone while they’re free. When will enough be enough?”

Bullock said that this is not the first time that courts and magistrates in Travis County have brought down a person’s bond so much that they can’t even post bail.

“This isn’t just true for one judge.” “This has happened in more than one court,” Bullock said. “There have been times when they may not commit another crime, and times when they do.” “People who are out on bond and then kill someone while they are already being charged with a violent crime.”

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas also spoke out about Morson’s release, calling it “outrageous.”

I think this is crazy. “That’s why I made bail reform an emergency item,” Abbott said in an X post.

During a special session last week to pass a bail reform plan, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also backed Abbott and said he was ready to play “hardball” to make sure violent offenders didn’t get out on bail.

The bills got past the first of many hurdles on Wednesday and are now on track to become law. The bills to change bail were approved by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee with a vote of 6-0.

“I’m glad Gov. Abbott made bail reform an emergency item for this session of the legislature.” Police officers and citizens who are not guilty have become targets of criminals because of excessive bail amounts that let dangerous criminals 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’ rights groups in Texas have been working for years to get stricter bail laws passed, especially for people who have committed very serious crimes. Rania Mankarious, CEO of Crime Stoppers of Houston, says that in the past, many criminals in Harris County were let out on low bond or no bond at all. Some of them went on to commit crimes again, sometimes severely.