Salon owner Shelley Luther said after being released from prison that she wasn’t going to apologize for reopening her business in defiance of Gov. Greg Abbott’s stay-at-home mandate.
“That was the last thing I was going to do, honestly,” she said.
“I just couldn’t, I couldn’t bring myself to apologize,” she added later.
Luther was sentenced to seven days in prison after a judge found her in contempt of court for refusing to apologize and say she was selfish for operating her business, Salon A La Mode. The move prompted Abbott to eliminate jail as an option for violators of his orders. The state Supreme Court ordered Luther’s release.
Luther told Sean Hannity that she was forced to close on March 22 and spent weeks unsure when she could reopen. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins continued pushing back the reopening date.
“When he finally pushed it back a final time I just woke up one day and I said, ‘I have to open, my stylists are calling me, they’re not making their mortgage,’” Luther said. She was also behind on her mortgage.
“My stylists were telling me that they wanted [to go] underground and go to people’s houses,” she said. “I just said, ‘You know, that’s not a good idea because we can’t control the environment there. We don’t know if it’s been disinfected or anything like that,’ and I just decided I would open.”
Luther said her stay in jail was unpleasant but she did not have a cellmate.
Luther walked out of jail Thursday to a cheering crowd.
“I just want to thank all of you who i just barely met, and now you’re all my friends,” Luther said. “This would have been nothing without you. Thank you so, so much.”
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