One inmate has succumbed to COVID-19 as the virus continues to slam the federal prison complex in Coleman.
As of Wednesday morning, the prison was reporting 144 cases among 107 inmates and 37 staff members. That marked an increase of 43 cases from a week ago when the prison, which houses more than 5,700 inmates in its low-, medium- and high-security wings, reported 101 cases among 85 inmates and 16 staff members.
The inmate who died was housed in the medium-security wing at the prison, where 86 prisoners and 15 staff members currently are suffering from COVID-19. Two inmates in that wing also have recovered from the virus, a report from the Federal Bureau of Prisons states.
Twenty-six Coronavirus cases have been reported in the low-security wing among 20 inmates and six staff members. As of Wednesday, one inmate and two staff members had recovered from the illness.
Seventeen cases also have been reported in the high-security sections of the prison. Those include 16 staff members and one inmate. Of those, the inmate and one staff member have recovered from the virus.
Overall, the Federal Bureau of Prisons houses 143,313 inmates in facilities across the United States and has a staff of about 36,000. As of Wednesday, 3,401 prisoners and 280 staff members had confirmed positive test results for COVID-19.
All told, 5,324 federal inmates and 629 staff members have recovered from the Coronavirus. But 95 inmates and one staff member have died as a result of the illness.
The Coleman prison complex sits on about 1,600 acres and as of 2010 was the largest correctional facility operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The inmates at the facility, on average, serve sentences of about 10 years.
Over the years, the prison has housed a variety of high-profile inmates. Convicted pedophile Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University team doctor, was moved there in August 2018 after allegedly being attacked in an Arizona prison. Somalia pirate Gabul Abdullah Ali and al-Quaida sympathizer Amine El Khalifi also were believed to have served time there. And the late James “Whitey” Bulger, the famed Boston crime boss, was moved there in late 2014.
This past April, former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown was released from the facility after completing less than half of her 60-month sentence for corruption and fraud charges. The 73-year Brown is serving the remainder of her sentence under home confinement. She suffers from high blood pressure, sleep apnea, low estrogen and acid reflux and was released because of concerns surrounding the Coronavirus.