Texas Department of Criminal Justice defends release of Methodist Hospital shooting suspect Nestor Hernandez
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) -- Nestor Hernandez, the man accused of killing two hospital workers at Methodist Dallas Medical Center on Saturday morning, is a convicted felon who was free on parole.
In response to questions Tuesday, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice--the state agency responsible for his release--issued a statement saying in part that "there was not an indication that Hernandez would act out violently in a hospital."
Prior to the shooting, Hernandez served over six years in prison for a 2015 aggravated robbery conviction, and was granted parole. In Texas, the Board of Pardons and Paroles oversees that process, and conditioned Hernandez to electric monitoring.
In remarks Monday, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia was critical of the decision to allow the 30-year-old that freedom.
"A violent individual like this should not have been on ankle monitoring. He should have still been in custody," Chief Garcia said. "Ankle monitors on violent criminals are useless."
Read the full statement from TDCJ below:
"Nestor Hernandez was released from prison to serve the remainder of his sentence in the community. He was on electronic monitoring, which required him to be home unless out for an approved activity such as work or, as in this case, the hospital to visit a new born child. Parole supervision allows those previously incarcerated to transition back into their community, which includes visiting family members in hospitals. There was not an indication that Hernandez would act out violently in a hospital, and allowing him the ability to visit loved ones in that setting would not be out of the normal course of supervision."