Temporary prison release denied for father of slain Uvalde student

By Taylor Six
Lexington Herald-Leader

MCCREARY COUNTY, Ky. — Reality star Kim Kardashian joined others calling for the temporary release of the father of a Uvalde, Texas, school shooting victim so that he could attend his daughter’s funeral.

Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10, was one of 19 children killed on May 24 when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, killing 19 children and two adult teachers, according to Texas officials.

Her father, 46-year-old Eli Torres, is incarcerated at the McCreary United States Penitentiary, a federal prison in Kentucky. Torres was convicted in Del Rio, Texas, of drug trafficking and conspiracy. He filed a request for compassionate release but it was denied, according to Univision 41 San Antonio, a TV news station in Texas.

The reported denial sparked blowback on social media calling for the release to be granted.

On Thursday afternoon, the same day Eliahana’s funeral was set to take place, Kardashian tweeted a picture of Eliahana, and said the family was “desperately hoping” to get the father temporary release.

In the tweet she asked the Bureau of Prisons to grant temporary release so Torres can say his “last goodbye to his baby girl.”

“Every parent deserves that right,” she tweeted.

But Lidia Terrazas of Univision 41 San Antonio reported Thursday that Torres wasn’t able to attend his daughter’s funeral.

Before Kardashian took to Twitter, State Rep. Attica Scott also shared sentiments on social media requesting the release be granted, and sent a letter to Gov. Andy Beshear and President Joe Biden.

Beshear’s office told the Herald-Leader that Beshear had no authority over federal inmates.

The Bureau of Prisons previously told the Herald-Leader it couldn’t comment on individual requests for release.

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