Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday sent a letter urging a Dallas judge to free a woman he sent to jail a day earlier after she refused to apologize for keeping her hair salon open in violation of Gov. Greg Abbott's order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
Soon after, Abbott said he agreed with his attorney general on the matter. Later Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick vowed to pay her fines -- $500 for each day the salon was open -- and volunteered to go under house arrest on the condition she be freed.
Luther was given three choices by the judge: She could offer an apology for selfishness, pay a fine and shutdown until Friday, or serve jail time. "I join the Attorney General in disagreeing with the excessive action by the Dallas Judge, putting Shelley Luther in jail for seven days," Abbott said. "As I have made clear through prior pronouncements, jailing Texans for non-compliance with executive orders should always be the last available option.
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