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Judge accused of taking unprecedented measures to get death row inmate an MRI

By and
Updated  October 22, 2024 9:51pm CDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 26 Houston

Judge accused of taking unprecedented measures to get death row inmate an MRI

A criminal court judge could be facing charges herself after being accused of taking unprecedented measures to help a convicted mass murderer get an MRI without the state's knowledge.

The Brief

    • Prosecutors claim Judge Nata Cornelio secretly arranged an MRI for death row convict Ronald Haskell, behind the state's back.
    • Haskell, who killed 6 relatives in 2014, transferred to Harris County Jail by Cornelio's warrant for an alleged midnight court.
    • Judge Cornelio is set for reelection without opposition, guaranteeing her judgeship for another 4 years amid the scandal.

HOUSTON - 351st Criminal Judge Nata Cornelio does not need to worry about what voters think of her actions for one of Houston's most infamous mass murderers, as she is running unopposed on the ballot.

She's going to be a judge for the next four years, and voters can't stop it. 

Get news, weather and so much more on the new FOX LOCAL app 

In its motion to recuse Judge Cornelio in the case of death row inmate Ronald Haskell, prosecutors claim she didn't want anyone, not even the state, to know what she was doing.

RELATED: Ronald Haskell guilty of capital murder in the deaths of Stay family

In 2014, Haskell killed his ex-sister-in-law, her husband, and four children.

"An entire family wiped out methodically putting people down one by one by one and, by some sort of miracle, a 15-year-old girl managed to survive," said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers. 

And she was the one who alerted the DA's Office after victim's services told her Haskell had been moved from the Pulunski unit in Huntsville to the Harris County Jail on a bench warrant signed by Judge Cornelio. 

"Purportedly for a court setting to occur on July 22 at midnight," said assistant DA Joshua Reiss. " There was never any court setting in this case during the three weeks that Ronald Haskell was in the Harris County Jail."

What Judge Cornelio wanted, according to court filings, was to get Haskell an MRI. Cornelio, who opposes the death penalty, apparently told the DA's Office years ago before becoming a judge she thought Haskell was "sick".

According to court filings, the only people who knew Haskell was in the Harris County Jail for three weeks was Judge Cornelio and his appellate attorney.

"Even his attorney told him not to say anything," said Kahan. "No one was supposed to know he was here."

In a taped conversation with his mother, even Haskell questioned why all the cloak and dagger.

"He understood this whole thing was supposed to be a secret the state was not supposed to know, and he was concerned for his safety because he almost got put in the general population," said Reiss.

While Haskell has the right to bring up mental illness in his appeal, the judge's actions appear over the top. 

Cornelio could be charged with tampering with a government record.

The bench warrant was for a court hearing never held. The motion to recuse will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 29.