Federal Prisons: Two Inmates Dead In Florida As Death Toll Hits 105 Around The Country

From the Florida Phoenix:

By Laura Cassels
July 29, 2020

The death toll from COVID-19 in federal prisons reached 105 this week when two inmates at a Texas prison died in nearby hospitals, according to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

Two of the dead were inmates in federal prisons in Florida: one at Coleman Federal Correctional Institution in Sumter County, where 320 inmates are diagnosed with the disease, and one at the Miami Federal Detention Center, where 81 of the inmates tested were positive for COVID-19, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Federal prisons in Florida incarcerate 9,047 inmates, according to bureau data through Wednesday.

Nationwide, the Bureau of Prisons reports it incarcerates 129,000 inmates in federal prisons, nearly 15,000 in private prisons, and more than 14,000 in other facilities.

The most deadly prison in the federal system continues to be Butner Federal Correctional Institution in North Carolina, where 16 inmates have died at Butner’s low-security facility and nine at its medium-security facility.

Systemwide, the bureau reports it has tested 36,226 of its inmates — about 28 percent of the total — with 10,446 of those tests being positive.

In the case of the Texas prison, 1,276, or roughly 72 percent, of the 1,760 inmates at the low-security prison and work camp in Seagoville have been diagnosed with the disease.

This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.