Two inmates have died in as many days from coronavirus at the federal prison complex where the U.S. government plans to carry out two executions next week (article available here). 65-year-old Byron Dale Bird died on Sunday, and 53-year-old Tim Hocutt died on Monday.
The executions of Christopher Andre Vialva and William Emmett LeCroy are scheduled to be carried out at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. The government carried out three executions in July and two executions in August.
The federal prison system has struggled to combat the coronavirus pandemic behind bars, where social distancing is nearly impossible. As of Tuesday, 13,477 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 at facilities across the United States; 11,623 had recovered. Officials said 120 inmates have died since late March.