In custody at home
It’s been impossible for Karl Scott to practice social distancing during the pandemic.
Last month, Scott, 44, was released from a federal prison in Beaumont after serving 34 months on a 60-month sentence for conspiracy to possess and traffic marijuana. He was approved for home confinement on March 23, but instead of being sent home, he was ordered to first spend 30 days at a halfway house in Houston — just as the fear of COVID-19 was spiking.
“You can’t distance yourself from anyone here,” he said in a phone call before his release. He hadn’t had any visitors since February.
Life at the halfway house meant living in a cubicle with three others in a dorm of 50 people, he said. He said one of his cellies was still going to work and there were new people coming in, every day. Some residents wore masks, but the risks were still high.
“I should not have been sitting here for a month,” he said from the halfway house. “I left Beaumont to come here and now I’m going back to Beaumont. I’m not doing anybody any good.”
He was released from the halfway house Tuesday, when after waiting hours for paperwork he walked outside to meet his sister for the drive back to Beaumont, where he lives with his wife and children.
Lots has happened since he was sentenced. His father passed, and his mother is now 70. His grandfather is 90, and as he prepares to rebuild his life with them on the outside, he worries about their vulnerability to the virus.
Scott is still not free. He’s required to wear an ankle monitor. He’s also quarantining himself for his family’s safety. When his mother came to welcome him home, instead of a hug, he settled for a masked smile and a quick elbow bump.
His wife’s birthday was the day after his release, but the pandemic squelched any plans for a party. She’s an essential worker for the city of Beaumont and is isolating, too. He made do with videos his daughter made of everyone wishing her mother a happy birthday. Meanwhile, his welcome-back dinner has been scrapped.
“I still feel like an outsider in my own home,” he said. “It’s not like I came home, and I’m free. It’s like I came home to another part of this sentence. I’m definitely still waiting.”