News & Events

Harris County Criminal Court

Description:

This purpose of this deployment was to provide comfort to a young man with severe PTSD for his court appearance in the sentencing of the man convicted of Aggravated Robbery against him. We arrived at 7:30 am, expecting our client to arrive at 8:00, but he and his twin brother were already in the courtroom waiting area and very happy to see us. He was visibly comforted by petting and talking to Gus for the next hour as we waited for the sentencing trial to begin. He would have the opportunity to speak in court about the impact this crime has had on his life and was anxious about the sentencing outcome, particularly to know if there would be prison time or this man would be free on probation, and a risk to him. At 9:00, his case worker learned that the trial would have to be continued until Aug. 22. The Harris County jail unit was quarantined with no inmates leaving to make court appearances. We met one of the prosecutors and the judge, who were very happy to see in person the impact of this new program by HOPE with the Victim Assistance Unit. She invited us into the courtroom with our client to be familiarized with the setting. Our client wanted assurance that we would be there for him when the trial is held in August because it was so much comfort to him. Plans were made for the Victim Assistance Coordinator to contact HOPE to confirm when we are needed.

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