DALLAS _ Nearly two weeks ago, Stacy Venable and her husband drove 125 miles south from Dallas to a women's prison in Marlin, Texas. Their daughter, Brittany, was finally coming home after five years.
Brittany's struggles with drugs landed her another stint in prison and Venable hadn't seen her in nearly a year. So when she heard the parole board decided to release Brittany early, she was relieved. Sitting in their car outside of the William P. Hobby Unit that morning, Venable and her husband waited two hours for Brittany to be released.
Then her phone rang.
Another inmate in her daughter's housing area was sick, the caller said. Brittany may have been exposed to the coronavirus. She would have to remain inside another two weeks.
Venable was crushed. Then, angry.
"I'm really frustrated with it," she told The Dallas Morning News. "After making parole, you should be able to go home."
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has delayed the release of thousands of inmates who tested positive for the coronavirus or were exposed to an infected person since the pandemic began. Families of inmates say some of their loved ones have had their releases postponed several times due to COVID-19 outbreaks behind bars.
Now, as the Texas prison system marks the highest COVID-19 infection numbers and death toll of any in the country, these families say the delays endanger prisoners by forcing them to stay inside lockups where the virus continues to spread.
Venable, a hospice caretaker in Dallas, is worried Brittany's release will be pushed back another two weeks if someone else tests positive. Her daughter, who is 27, is anemic and on seizure medication, she said, and should be allowed to quarantine at home with her family instead.
"She's stressed out. She's upset," Venable said. "They've done their time. Let them go."
