Justice For Kids - Sarah Stogner

I’m happy to share that last week, here in West Texas, we got a long overdue conviction against a man for sexual assault of a minor. The jurors were thoughtful and attentive. After deliberating for a couple of hours (?), they returned with their decision.

Thanks to them, the justice system worked. We put a pedophile in prison. It’s a step forward -- but only one.

In the 143rd Judicial District we have only about 26,000 residents, according to Census records. And since I became district attorney in January, I’ve learned that we have a backlog of at least 30 cases for sexual assault of a minor. Many of these cases have been sitting around for years. During that time, the alleged perpetrators have been off living their lives.

Five of these cases are set to go to trial before the end of this year. That may be a lot for a small prosecutor’s office, but it’s far too few for the justice Texans deserve. If these perpetrators are guilty, they should all be locked up -- not roaming free and potentially victimizing other children.

This helps explain why my recent “blunt stunt,” in which I smoked marijuana on TikTok, was so important. If Texans want real justice, we have to stand up to the state’s controlling political party, which has gone off the deep end.

As I explained in a new op-ed for the Houston Chronicle, our lawmakers “face a long list of Texas-sized challenges. They have to pass regulations and build infrastructure to prevent further tragic deaths in flooding. They need to confront crime rates that are well above the national average. They’ve got to stop orphaned and zombie oil wells from poisoning water supplies and killing crops.”

Yet the Republican-run legislature has put time and resources into things like redistricting to hold onto power; confining Democratic lawmakers to the Capitol unless they agreed to be followed by police; and getting rid of recreational marijuana.

It’s not just that the marijuana ban efforts, backed by lobbyists, go against the wishes of Texans. It’s that the resources it would take to enforce this kind of a ban would pull law enforcement away from prosecuting far more serious crimes.

That's only the beginning. By pushing this ban, the Texas GOP is hurting the state economically. The Marijuana Policy Project estimates that states with legalized pot have collected about $25 billion in tax revenue. Last year alone, “legalization states generated more than $4.4 billion in cannabis tax revenue from adult-use sales,” the group says. The Tax Foundation estimates that Texas could pull in about half a billion dollars every year.

Imagine what law enforcement could do with some of this funding. As I discussed in the National Law Review, my district is considered one of the nation’s “legal deserts.” There aren’t enough attorneys to get people the justice they deserve. That includes having too few prosecutors.

I recently hired an assistant D.A. But to process the backlog of sexual assault and so many other crimes, we need more. Greater funding could transform this and so many other areas.

It’s not just prosecutorial offices that need the funding. The state’s labs are essential for processing and testing evidence that we need to determine charges and try defendants. Our labs are logjammed. With more funding, Texas could support and expand these labs, revolutionizing how quickly they’re able to deliver results.

Legalized cannabis also creates jobs. Texas is already letting those jobs go to other states. The new, more restrictive bill Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is pushing would send even more jobs away. It’s a drain on our coffers in every way.

I keep hearing from people in law enforcement with words of support and encouragement. The want me to keep speaking out, and I will. What they want is the same thing most Texans want: a government that will keep law and order while respecting personal freedoms. In 2025, it makes no sense to work so hard to prevent people from growing or consuming a plant found in nature. Not while we have so much else to focus on.

It’s time to make Texas stronger.