A Houston-area family is fighting to keep a man convicted in the fentanyl death of their daughter behind bars, after learning that the 28-year-old restaurant manager who was sentenced to six years in prison just two months ago is already being considered for parole. The news has left the family reeling as they try to understand how his release could be on the table so soon.
In May, the man was sentenced to six years in prison for causing the fentanyl death of a co-worker, the family's daughter, Erica, following a full day of trial. The family says prosecutors were not able to pursue a murder charge in the case, and that they had accepted the six-year sentence as the outcome, taking some comfort that he would at least be serving time.
Just a couple of months later, the family says they received a letter from the parole board notifying them that the man is already under parole consideration. They say they had been told he would serve three years, and were stunned to learn he was up for possible release only about three months into the sentence that had been handed down in the spring.
According to the family, the man could ultimately be paroled and freed by the beginning of the year, an outcome that would mean he spends less than a year in prison for the death. The parents said plainly that such a result would not be justice, and that they are determined to do whatever they can to stop his release from happening.
For the family, the hardest part is the permanence of what they have lost. The parents said they can no longer call or talk to their daughter, and will never get to see her marry or have grandchildren. The only milestone left for them to mark, they said, is her birthday on August 2nd, which makes the timing of the parole news especially painful.
The family says they have already begun organizing, gathering letters to protest the man's possible parole in the days since they learned of the review. Erica's mother said she wants to be her daughter's voice, and to speak up for other families who might one day be confronted with the same sudden prospect of an early release.