By Brittany Anderson

HAYS COUNTY — According to the Hays County Jail dashboard, 80% of the county’s total jail population are pretrial detainees — legally innocent people who are unable to afford their freedom — that can expect to spend a minimum of 30 days in jail, costing county taxpayers between $80 to $100 per inmate. 

Mano Amiga, a local nonprofit that works to organize systemic and cultural change, has spearheaded efforts to implement a Public Defender Office (PDO) i...