FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — An offender from Green River Correctional Complex passed away in the hospital after battling COVID-19 on Friday, marking the first coronavirus-related death among incarcerated people in Kentucky. The 49-year-old man was admitted to the hospital on April 8, and tested positive for COVID-19 the following day. His family has been notified.
The individual was serving a nine-year sentence out of Jefferson County for assault second and escape second and had approximately three years left to serve of his sentence. He was not eligible for the conditional commutations issued by Gov. Beshear.
The Kentucky Department of Corrections has approximately 12,000 incarcerated offenders in 13 prisons and 4,000 employees. Currently, 19 inmates and 15 staff have tested positive for COVID-19. Five have recovered. The agency also supervises about 50,000 offenders in the community through probation and parole.
