6th Inmate at Avenal State Prison Succumbs to COVID-19
64 Inmates in California Prisons Have Died from COVID-19 Complications
Fresno, California – A sixth inmate at Avenal State Prison has died from apparent COVID-19 complicated, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.
This is the 64th coronavirus-related death among the inmates. The other most recent deaths were reported at the California Institute for Men in Chino on September 7. CIM, where 23 inmates have died, currently has the second-most COVID-related deaths in the state after San Quentin State Prison where 27 inmates have succumbed to the virus.
The human rights groups and advocates have been pushing for the release of more inmates to curb the outbreak. However, the department is worried about letting violent offenders back into the community.
As of this week, about 94,000 inmates remain incarcerated in California’s prisons, a reduction of roughly 22,000 since the coronavirus outbreak in March.
The Department of Corrections has not been publicly disclosing the identities of those who have died.
