Kristina Byington’s cousin, Anita, was brutally murdered in Austin, Texas on the night of August 11, 1991. One of the convicted murderers who allegedly beat her to death, Allen Andre Causey, quickly confessed to the crime and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. The Byington family
breathed a sigh of relief, believing that justice had been served.
That was, until 2022. That year, Allen Andre Causey left prison on parole, which was a “gut-punch” to Anita’s surviving family members. But the gut-punch turned into full-on horror when the family discovered that Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza was pursuing exoneration for the convicted murderer. Unbeknownst to Anita’s relatives, Garza had been working for over a year with George Soros-funded activist group The Innocence Project to try to clear Causey’s name. The unholy partnership was enabled by a $599,504 grant from the Biden Justice Department.
Kristina was horrified. “Once we found out [about Garza’s plan], we were treated like the enemy and weren’t notified of anything,” she claimed. “Garza just decided Causey was innocent. An investigator from his office and the lawyer from The Innocence Project interviewed witnesses together. Does that sound like justice?” The Innocence Project contended that Causey was wrongfully convicted based on perjured testimony and forced confessions. Kristina, and Texas courts, do not agree.
These facts did not matter to activist DA Garza, who stated in filings that he “believes” in Causey’s innocence. The Texan reported that: “Although Texas courts refused to declare innocent a man convicted of a 1991 Austin murder, instead calling for a new trial, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza declined to prosecute he case and instead directed the state to pay $2.5 million in compensation to the defendant.”
Anita’s murder case, which is now technically unsolved thanks to Garza, was bungled. Due to his lack of action, Causey will be made a millionaire on the taxpayer dime, even though he was never declared innocent in a court of law. To make matters worse, DA Garza himself pushed for the payments. Meanwhile, in what Kristina believes is retaliation for speaking out, the Travis County DA’s office severed all communication with her.
“Normally, a district attorney is supposed to represent the people in holding killers accountable,” Kristina said. But instead of supporting victims, DA Garza acted as a defense attorney for Anita’s killer, and Kristina could do nothing about it. “The DA has the final word,” she said. “He practically represented the criminal in court and we have no recourse. Who do we call?”
Governor Abbott’s proposal to establish a statewide prosecutor “would mean everything.” It would mean a chance at justice for Anita. Kristina urges Texas legislators to enshrine the Governor’s state prosecutor office proposal into law. “A chief state prosecutor could step in to take over cases, ensure accountability, represent the people’s interest in justice (not just one side), and prevent rogue local decisions from denying victims’ families closure or public safety.”
When asked if she had a message for Texas voters, Kristina urged them to look beyond party lines. “I was a lifelong liberal Democrat,” she said. “On paper, Jose Garza is my person. Reform-minded and fair. But the reality is the opposite. Voters should look for who really cares about justice and the safety of their citizens.” Through this experience, Kristina has profoundly soured on the Democratic Party, which continues to roll out the red carpet for criminals and shun victims. Thanks to her experience with Soros-funded DA Garza, she is “no longer a liberal Democrat.”
Sometimes, Kristina says, “the good guys are not the good guys.” Unfortunately for Anita Byington, the supposed “good guy” in her case was Jose P . Garza. His mercy to the guilty became cruelty to the innocent.
