HOUSTON COURT OF APPEALS DENIES FORMER WASHINGTON CO. JAILER’S WRIT

  

The Houston Court of Appeals has denied the relief requested by a former Washington County jailer.

The Court ordered today (Tuesday) that Christopher Kulow remain in custody until the completion of his sentence for Official Oppression.

Kulow was convicted by a jury in August 2015, after an incident involving a restrained inmate. Surveillance video evidence showed him attacking a Washington County Jail inmate, who was strapped to a chair.

Kulow was sentenced by Judge Carson Campbell to one year in the county jail in October 2015. He was released on bond after appealing his conviction.  The Court of Appeals denied his appeal, and the Court of Criminal Appeals, Texas’s highest criminal court, denied his request for review on November 10, 2017.

Kulow filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus with the District Court, requesting relief on the grounds that Sheriff Otto Hanak was unfairly denying his early release, because other inmates had been given “good time” credit but he had not. After a hearing on June 1^st, Judge Campbell denied the requested relief.

The denial was then appealed to the Court of Appeals, which issued its opinion today (Tuesday). The Court of Appeals held that the District Judge acted within its discretion in denying the claim, and overruled the sole issue.

The opinion means that Kulow will continue serving his sentence in the Burleson County Jail, where he is being housed as a courtesy.

There is still a possibility of review by the Court of Criminal Appeals, but Washington County District Attorney Julie Renken says review would likely not be granted before Kulow’s sentence is complete.