Texas prisons, criminal justice topics of session at county women’s political caucus meeting

The Hays County Women’s Political Caucus will feature a talk on the Texas prison system and its impact on women with attorney Shannon FitzPatrick and hear from Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra and his Chief of Staff Alex Villalobos on local criminal justice issues on Tuesday, May 28.

The caucus meeting will at 5:30 p.m. at the San Marcos Public Library, 625 E. Hopkins, San Marcos with the program starting at 5:50 p.m.

Shannon FitzPatrick, a noted attorney, will discuss “Women in Prison: the Crises Before Us,” recounting her research and personal experiences.

She has been licensed to practice law in Texas for 25 years. In that time she has been an Assistant General Counsel for the Texas Department of Public Safety, an Assistant District Attorney for Hays County, and Director of the Office of the Attorney for Students at Texas State University. She is currently retired and pursuing criminal justice reform in Texas.

Judge Becerra and Villalobos have led a county-wide effort to generate public discussions on jail overcrowding and costly outsourcing of inmates to other county jails. Between 2014 and 2018 the inmate population at the Hays County Jail increased by 82%. A recent initiative by Judge Becerra and Villalobos to apply for a state grant for a Public Defenders Office failed to win support from the commissioners, with another effort to seek the grant anticipated next year.

Judge Becerra, a long-time resident of San Marcos, is the first Latino Hays County Judge in its 170 year history. Owner of Gil’s Broiler & Manske Roll Bakery in San Marcos, Becerra has served on the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Commission, Art Commission, Parks and Recreation Board, San Marcos CISD Bond Oversight Committee, San Marcos Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos, Gary Job Corps Community Relations Council, San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, and Texas Bobcat Athletic Foundation.

As County Judge, he is on the Capitol Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) Executive Committee, CARTS Board of Directors, CAPCOG Criminal Justice Executive Committee, Central Texas Clean Air Coalition Board, Chair of the Election Commission, Records Management Officer and Chief Budget Officer.

Alex Villalobos has been a resident of Kyle, TX since 2004. He has earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Villalobos is a 2011 Leadership San Marcos Alumni and a 2015 Senior New Leadership Fellow through the National Institution of Institutional Diversity at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.

Villalobos currently serves as the Elected City Council Member District #4 Kyle, TX, as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra, as a Reserve Deputy Constable Precinct #3, on the Capitol Area Council of Governments Clean Air Coalition Advisory Council and as a member of the Hays County Criminal Justice Commission.