Citing COVID-19 Concerns, Former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway Wants Release From Federal Prison

(Dallas) – After more than 13 months in a West Texas federal prison, lawyers for former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway are trying to get him released on home confinement, because of the risk of contracting COVID-19.

Caraway pled guilty to accepting some $450,000 in bribes and kickbacks from a company selling stop-arm cameras for school buses owned by the now defunct Dallas Co. Schools. He is now serving a 56 month sentence at the Big Spring Federal Correction Facility.

In a federal district court motion, lawyers said long before being sentenced to prison the now 68-year-old Caraway suffered from, “various medical conditions, including but not limited to sleep apnea, hypertension, esophageal dyskinesia, hyperlipidemia, hypogonadism, polyneurophathy” and is a high risk prisoner because of those health and age factors.

Part of the motion said, “Due to his [Caraway’s] age and current health conditions, he is in a vulnerable group for susceptibility to the Coronavirus and serious medical complications from that disease.”

Attorneys for Caraway detailed how one of the best ways to prevent contracting COVID-19 is to practice social distancing and how that is virtually impossible within the crowded spaces of a Texas prison.

Lawyers claim to have requested back in May that Caraway be released to home confinement, but have not received a response. “The need to address a potential order of home confinement for Mr. Caraway is urgent,” they said.

Claiming that the former Dallas politician is in ‘dire risk’ of severe illness or premature death if he remains incarcerated, lawyers also said Caraway, who was convicted on non-violent charges, poses no threat to the community upon release and already has a plan in place for re-entry.