Pasadena murder suspect with rapidly deteriorating health won’t get out of jail to die at home, judge ruled
A man accused of a Pasadena murder is now fighting for his life while behind bars at the Harris County Jail due to cirrhosis of the liver, his attorney told KPRC 2.
Eric Cano, 40, is indicted for murder and awaiting trial, accused of shooting Rojelio Ramirez twice in the face in October 2020 after the men drank and argued, according to court documents.
But Cano has spent the last month and a half in hospital with a bad liver. He was discharged back to prison earlier this week after doctors decided no additional treatment could help and gave him two weeks to live, his attorney Wade Smith said.
“This man is completely and utterly bedridden,” Smith said, adding that Cano has other organs that are malfunctioning and internal bleeding. “This man obviously poses no threat to the safety of any community. He can’t even get out of bed by himself.”
Cano’s condition is so serious that he failed to make it to court on Wednesday when his lawyers argued he should have been released to die at home in a hospice.
After being arrested in October 2020, Cano paid his original $250,000 bail and spent nearly two years off while awaiting trial.
But last July, after his attorney said he’d shown up to all scheduled court appearances and hadn’t breached bonds, Judge Ramona Franklin quadrupled Cano’s bail to $1 million and returned him to custody. .
“The judge must have taken a look at his entire criminal history and made a decision and judges have to make tough decisions,” said Andy Kahan, director of victim services at Crime Stoppers. “Mr. Ramirez’s family will never see him.
In August 2020, the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association filed a complaint with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct against Franklin, alleging that Judge Franklin would, “without notice, without cause, and in violation of the law and the constitutional rights of the defendant, revoke their obligations on their own initiative without any new information and order their remand,” according to a copy of the complaint provided to KPRC 2.
Due to strict statutory confidentiality rules, the state commission will not confirm or deny that the complaint has been filed and will not comment on the findings of any investigation without the issuance of public discipline, Executive Director Jacqueline Habersham wrote in an e-mail. mail to KPRC 2.
At a hearing Wednesday at Cano’s, Smith asked Franklin to reinstate his initial bond, which has already been posted, or establish a new bond his family could afford, both options with a goal of getting him released.
But Smith said Franklin denied those options, suggesting instead that they find a place for Cano to go and a plan to present to her. This is an option that Smith doesn’t see as viable.
“I feel sorry for that family. It’s hard to lose a loved one. However, that doesn’t make what we’re doing here right” Smith said. “We wouldn’t even treat a dog like this. You would never take a dying dog and lock it in a cage.
Cano’s murder trial is set for August, but Smith said he doesn’t think he can last that long.
Franklin’s office did not return a request for comment Thursday night.
Copyright 2023 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
