An Alabama woman who was imprisoned for fatally shooting her husband in 2015 was reportedly placed in a work-release program less than three years into her 40-year sentence.
Two months ago, Cindy Kaye Henderson Reese was moved from the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women to the Birmingham Work Release Center. AL.com reported that the facility is located near victim Michael Reese’s grieving family—who reportedly only learned of her move days earlier.
Cindy shot her husband in the head after arriving home from church and dinner. After the slaying, she went to Piggly Wiggly and bought groceries and returned home to stage the scene to make it appear as if a robbery occurred, according to the news outlet.
On Wednesday, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) told AL.com that Cindy hadn’t been assigned any work and that her placement at the center is temporary. Further, prison spokesman Bob Horton told the news outlet that she’s in the process of being moved to a non-work-release correctional facility.
It remains unclear what prompted Cindy’s transfer from the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women to the Birmingham Work Release Center. AL.com noted that she was classified a “minimum-out” inmate in April, meaning she was found to not pose a risk to the public and could be assigned off-property work details which aren’t supervised by correctional officers.
In a statement to AL., Jefferson County Chief Deputy District Attorney Joe Roberts said the ADOC didn’t notify them, police or the victim’s family of the convicted murderer’s transfer. Michael’s family reportedly only learned of the move after a relative caught a discussion between some county employees.
The slain man’s father, Early Reese, said of the ordeal, “It makes me sick, to be honest with you.”
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[Featured image: Cindy Kaye Henderson Reese/Alabama Department of Corrections]
