Texas juvenile judge releases defendants after election loss

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HOUSTON (AP) — A day after losing his re-election bid, a Texas judge released nearly all of the juvenile defendants who appeared before him after asking them whether they intended to kill anyone.

Harris County prosecutors expressed concerns after Judge Glenn Devlin made the decision Wednesday in Houston. The juveniles face charges ranging from misdemeanors to violent crimes.

The Houston Chronicle reports the longtime Republican jurist rescheduled the cases for the first week in January, after Democrat who beat him during Tuesday's election takes the bench.

It's unclear how many juveniles were released, but officials said there were at least seven.

District Attorney Kim Ogg released a statement saying prosecutors opposed "the wholesale release of violent offenders at any age." Ogg said the move "could endanger the public."

Devlin declined comment to the newspaper.

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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com