HARRISBURG – An inmate at the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix in Montgomery County, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died April 8 at the Einstein Medical Center, the Department of Corrections reported Monday.
The DOC said on April 11, the Montgomery County coroner notified prison officials that the cause of death was determined to be acute respiratory distress from pneumonia due to COVID-19 with contributing factors of hypertensive cardiovascular disease and liver cirrhosis.
Prison officials said the inmate was a 67-year-old African-American who was serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Philadelphia County. The inmate’s next-of-kin was contacted.
This is the first COVID-19-related death in a state correctional facility, according to the DOC. Should additional COVID-19-related inmate deaths occur, it will include that information on its Web site and will not issue individual news releases.
Find the latest information on the DOC’s COVID-19 efforts here. Find the latest information on the coronavirus here.