By Kaden Gicker

The father of one of the mass-shooting victims in Uvalde, Texas, asked for a temporary release from federal prison to attend her funeral, but his request was denied by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) on May 31, 2022.

The child, Eliahna Cruz Torres, 10, was killed at Robb Elementary School by a gunman during a shooting that left 18 other children and two teachers dead on May 24, 2022. She was the daughter of Eli Torres, 46, who is serving a 10-year sentence for a Texas drug-trafficking conviction at the U.S. Penitentiary in McCreary County, Kentucky.

Eliahna Torres was in her classroom when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos allegedly stormed in with a high-powered rifle, which he had legally purchased and also used to shoot his 66-year-old grandmother earlier in the day. After he barricaded himself inside, Uvalde school and city police arrived quickly. But they have since drawn heavy criticism for their slow response to the crisis, milling around outside the school and even detaining distraught parents who attempted to rescue their children. Meanwhile the rampage and carnage continued inside for 80 minutes before a tactical team from U.S. Border Patrol arrived and stormed the building, fatally shooting Ramos.

The elder Torres appealed to BOP to grant him “compassionate release” so that he could travel to his daughter’s funeral. ​After he was denied, a letter went out on his behalf from Kentucky state Rep. Attica Scott (D-Louisville) to Pres. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D) and Gov. Andy Beshear (D), asking them to intervene with BOP. Less than 40 hours later, entertainment personality Kim Kardashian weighed in, too, tweeting hopes to her 73 million social media followers that BOP would relent and let Torres “say his last goodbye to his baby girl.”

“Every parent deserves that right,” Kardashian insisted.

However, there was no reply from BOP, nor from Biden. Beshear is a state governor with no authority over federal BOP officials. Torres did not attend his daughter’s funeral.

In addition to plugging meal replacement shakes on Instagram and helming her own cosmetics and fragrance brand, Kardashian became an unlikely force for prison reform when she successfully lobbied former President Donald R. Trump (R) in March 2020 to reduce sentences of three federal prisoners: Crystal Munoz, Judith Negron and Tynice Hall, who spent a combined 69 years locked up for non-violent crimes.

Source: KSAZ, Lexington Herald-Leader, New York Times

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