(WBAP/KLIF) — Some 3,500 parolees in halfway houses across the state of Texas are worried about the spread of COVID-19. Housed prisoners on parole at facilities such as the Fort Worth Transitional Center or drug rehabilitation centers live in tight quarters.
Choosing a risk of contracting COVID-19 or violating probation plagues prisoners transitioning to normal life.
Kevin Ring of “Families for Justice Reform” asked the state to release prisoners at mass-living re-entry facilities. Ring says it’s impossible to implement CDC social distancing guidelines when parolees living in such tight quarters.
Ring suggests house arrest during the pandemic.
Texas currently contracts with at least 15 halfway houses and drug treatment centers that house 100 residents or more. According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, 500,000 people are on probation or parole in Texas.
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