HOUSTON — Two years after her son was killed by an inmate at the Harris County Jail, a mother directly addressed his killer in court.
The case was about Fred Harris who was 19 when he was placed in a jail cell with Michael Ownby in 2021. Harris had special needs and was only 98 pounds. Ownby, 27, weighed more than 240 pounds and had documented incidents of violence just days before.
Harris’ family had asked the Harris County Sheriff's Office to move Harris to a different location because of his special needs. That did not happen.
Ownby attacked Harris, who died of his injuries days later.
A trial was set to begin this week, but in a plea deal, Ownby was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Harris’ family disagreed with the deal, calling for a life sentence.
Dallas Garcia, Fred Harris' mother, delivered a victim impact statement in court on Friday.
“I assumed we had more time in our future,” Garcia said. “Unfortunately, Michael Ownby took that time away from me and my son. Michael stabbed, kicked and beat the life out of Fred and took that time away from us. Michael, you stole my son.”
Ownby sat without reaction as Garcia and her daughter, Asa, read their impact statements.
Following the court hearing, the family held a news conference. KHOU 11 asked Garcia what went through her mind as she read her statement to her son’s killer.
“Honestly, I was just thinking about Fred, and he’d probably say, ‘Hey, be brave Mom, you got this,’” Garcia said through tears. “So, I did everything for him today. And I hope he’s proud of me even though he can’t tell me that.”
The family is now focusing efforts on a civil lawsuit against the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
That legal process is still in the evidence discovery phase, but an attorney for the Harris family is hopeful that a video showing the attack will eventually be allowed to be shown to the public.
KHOU 11 reached out to the Harris County Sheriff's Office for a response. They said in an email that the office is, “unable to comment on pending litigation.”