After spending two days behind bars, the Dallas salon owner jailed for reopening her business has been released from custody.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), and state Attorney General Ken Paxton all came to Shelley Luther’s defense earlier this week after Judge Eric Moyé sentenced her to seven days in jail for opening Salon à La Mode during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday morning, the Texas Supreme Court ordered Luther to be released from state custody one day after Paxton called Moyé’s sentence “outrageous and out of touch.”
The judge originally sentenced Luther to a week in jail and slapped her with a $7,000 fine — a fee Patrick offered to pay — after she defiantly opened the doors of her salon due to financial strain caused by the state-mandated closures in March of “nonessential” businesses.
When Moyé suggested Luther had reopened her business for selfish reasons, the entrepreneur responded, “Feeding my kids is not selfish. I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they’d rather feed their kids. So, sir, if you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please, go ahead with your decision, but I am not going to shut the salon.”
Warren Norred, who has represented Luther, said his client’s arrest was “unlawful.” Abbott, likewise, called the salon owner’s imprisonment “nonsensical.”
Luther’s release from jail comes on day after former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) visited Salon à La Mode to show her support.
When Luther was released Thursday afternoon, a smattering of supporters met her outside the jail, where she held a brief press conference.
“I’m a little overwhelmed,” she said, tearing up. “I just want to thank all of you who I just barely met and now you’re all my friends. You mean so much to me. Thank you so, so much.”
Supporters have also set up a GoFundMe page for Luther, which has garnered more than half a million dollars in contributions.