Williamson County's tough-on-crime reputation a three-decade legacy

Williamson County's tough-on-crime reputation a three-decade legacy

By Beth Wade and Melissa Mixon Friday, 29 January 2010

WILLIAMSON COUNTY — Williamson County’s tough-on-crime reputation has been 30 years in the making and is bringing the county statewide recognition. The county’s stance on crime is infused into every level of its law enforcement, down to the arresting officer and the juries who hand out the sentences.

Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley is often credited as the man behind the reputation, but it was the work of two district attorneys and other law enforcement officials who came before him and set the bar.

“By the time I got here in 1989, that reputation was clearly established,” Bradley said. “In fact, it matched what I was looking for by the way people described it.”

A reputation to stand on

Although the county now has a tough reputation, it is one that did not always exist. In fact, in 1977 when Ed Walsh took office as district attorney, the position was not even a full-time job.

“Back in those days, Williamson County had a part-time district attorney that didn’t spend full time in the office,” Walsh said. “The basis of my campaign was that I would be tough on crime and be a full-time district attorney, and I was elected.”

Around that time, crimes such as robbery and drug offenses became more prevalent, and the county’s top law enforcement officials decided that enough was enough.

Walsh, along with Bill Lott—the 26th District Court judge—and then Williamson County Sheriff Jim Boutwell, would meet to discuss ways they could work together to convince criminals they were serious about being tough on crime, Walsh said.

Two cases, in which both defendants were sent to prison, set the tone for what would eventually give the county its reputation.

“It was those early cases and those early sentences that began to get some publicity,” Bradley said. “Then it began to develop by word of mouth, this notion that people who commit crimes in Williamson County are going to get caught and they are going to get punished.”

Criminals know that crossing the Williamson County line signifies more than a change in geographic borders: It means harsher sentences, Bradley said.

“Not everyone pays that much attention to geography, but within the criminal element, I certainly think the professional burglars had a good sense of where the county line is,” 277th District Court Judge Ken Anderson said.

Too tough?

Former and current county officials believe that for the past 30 years, the county’s crime stance has been welcomed by residents and reflected in the sentences that juries dole out. However, all acknowledge that as the county has grown and the population has diversified, the reputation has been scrutinized.

The county’s strict position has often been compared to Travis County, which officials in both counties say has a more liberal reputation.

“People try to contrast us a lot, but the truth is that you won’t find a lot of difference in areas like violent crime and things of that nature,” said Rosemary Lehmberg, District Attorney for Travis County. “Theirs is a much more conservative population in general, though it is changing some. I think as Williamson County grows and people begin to study causes of crimes and reforms of criminal justice, you will see more people understanding or believing, particularly in drug cases, that perhaps locking people up forever doesn’t get you very far.”

Williamson County officials said their prosecutions and sentences represent the desires of the community and jurors.

Anderson’s first case as the county’s district attorney was an armed robbery case in 1985. He offered the defendant a plea agreement to serve 20 years in prison, but the defendant, thinking he could get a lesser sentence, refused the deal. Anderson then recommended a 40-year sentence; however, when the verdict came, jurors handed down a sentence of 55 years.

Roy Minton, an Austin defense attorney who has represented clients in several high-profile cases, said he approaches cases in Williamson County the same way he would in Travis County, even though he is aware of the difference in the two counties’ reputations. Minton said he respects Williamson County’s prosecutors and believes the county’s tough-on-crime attitude has spread not because of heavy sentences necessarily, but because of the county’s effort to promote it.

“[John Bradley] has continued with what was sort of a tradition of saying, ‘We’re not Austin, and we’re not running around here smoking dope and laughing it off. We believe in the old standards, and we’re going to prosecute accordingly,’” Minton said.

Bradley and others point out that while it is the high-profile cases that make the news, a large number of cases end with plea agreements, not jury trials, and the county has several rehabilitative programs.

Bradley said he prosecutes an average of 2,000 cases a year, and of those cases about 50 receive a sentence of 20 years or more.

Recognized

Despite criticism from others for being too tough, state officials have shown their support of the county’s work.

In September Gov. Rick Perry picked Bradley to serve as chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. State legislators also praised the county during the 2009 session for its accuracy in reporting criminal history to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

A reputation’s evolution

Bradley said that every time he selects a jury, he asks why they moved to Williamson County. The answer, inevitably, is good schools, low unemployment and low crime rate.

The county’s average crime rate is lower than the regional, state and national averages, something that Bradley said is “no accident.”

While the crime rate has remained low, some question if what the county does in reality is the same as what the county has touted. Some also question whether the reputation still fits, given how the county is changing.

“You’ve got young people from Round Rock and you’ve got young people from all around that are very different in their attitudes,” Minton said. “They’re going to be much closer in their mindset to people in Austin than they’re going to be with the people who are my age that were running things and had the attitude of being as strong.”

However, others might say the changing demographics make law enforcement work harder to maintain that tough-on-crime attitude.

Walsh said the county could be considered tougher now on defendants than when he prosecuted in the ’70s and ’80s.

“I think we still have that reputation, and I think it is a good reputation to have,” Walsh said.