Appointments
Jennifer Tharp, Criminal District Attorney in Comal County, was appointed chair of the National Association of Counties’s (NACo) Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. There, she will shape policy priorities on criminal justice, law enforcement, emergency management, and other public safety issues. Tharp also serves on the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) Board of Directors. NACo represents the interest of the nation’s 3,069 counties, parishes, and boroughs.
Staley Heatly, the County Attorney in Wilbarger County, and Jarvis Parsons, the District Attorney in Brazos County, were appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Family Violence Criminal Homicide Prevention Task Force. Its purpose is to analyze trends in family violence homicides and to develop policy recommendations to reduce such incidents statement.
Award
Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) was presented with TDCAA’s Law & Order Award at our Elected Prosecutor Conference in December. Huffman, a former prosecutor and district judge, completed a successful legislative session that improved the Texas criminal justice system and pushed forward a pay raise for all elected prosecutors.
Retirement
Longtime prosecutor Kristi DeCluitt announced her retirement from the CDA’s Office in McLennan County, effective in mid-February. She was hired at the DA’s Office in 2000 and also served as an assistant city attorney and justice of the peace before rejoining the DA’s Office in 2021.
Passing
Verna Lee Carr, founder of People Against Violent Crime and the Tree of Angels Ceremony, passed away in early December. She was a fierce and passionate advocate for crime victims, and she founded the Tree of Angels 35 years ago as a way to remember and cherish loved ones lost to crime.