A woman in her twenties called ‘Jenny,' suffering from bipolar disorder, was jailed after she became incapable of completing her testimony against Keith Hendricks, the man who raped her. According to court transcripts, Jenny became incoherent, broke down and attempted to run away.
She was briefly placed in the St. Joseph Medical Center, then transported to Harris County prison, following a request by prosecutor Nicholas Socias, which was signed by Judge Stacey W. Bond.
Jenny spent a month in prison, during which time she allegedly physically assaulted a guard, before being brought back to court to testify again. After completing her testimony against the rapist, she was released January 14.
The judge's decision sparked controversy, led by Buckley, who filed a lawsuit against against Harris County, Sheriff Ron Hickman, Taylor Adams, a jail guard who was assaulted by the victim, and prosecutor Socias.
While the KPRC Channel 2 Investigative report quotes Leticia Manzano, who counsels rape victims at Houston Area Women's Center, claiming that has she "never heard of something like this happening," the practice of imprisoning a victim is a legal, if uncommon, judicial practice called a "witness bond."
"Witness bonds are a common tool used by prosecutors and defense attorneys when the lawyer has reason to believe that the witness will be unavailable or make him or herself unavailable for trial," said a spokesman for DA Anderson. "A judge must approve a witness bond. In this case the judge and family agreed with the decision to obtain a witness bond."
"The witnesses can be protected by placing them in a hotel, you can place them with family, you can keep in contact," Ogg says.
Anderson, who is legally prohibited to discuss the case, as the rapist is appealing his sentence, responded by releasing a video in defense of the prosecutor's decision.
"I have carefully reviewed the case and fully support our prosecutor's actions. It bears repeating this was a difficult decision and there were no apparent alternatives that would ensure the victim's safety and her appearance at trial," she says in the video.
Despite attorney Buckler's observation that prison "is not an environment for a rape victim," media reports claim that Jenny initially stayed with her family, but then became unmanageable, which led the prosecutor to fear that she would run away and not return to testify, a key element, in his opinion, in assuring that the rapist is punished. This, combined with the victim's mental state, led the prosecutor to jail her, as his only option to ensure her participation.
