Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Health

Sixth Alabama inmate dies after positive COVID-19 test

Tutwiler Prison for Women

A sixth incarcerated person in Alabama died Monday after testing positive for COVID-19, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced Monday. 

Wanda Gaye Dison, 68, who was serving at Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka died at a local hospital Monday, according to the department. Dison was hospitalized for advanced, chronic health problems, was tested and found to be positive for coronavirus.

Dison’s exact cause of death is pending an autopsy. 

Two more inmates at Tutwiler tested positive for COVID-19, ADOC also announced Monday. One woman was asymptomatic but was tested for precaution during a transfer from another facility and was found to be positive, according to the release. The other woman was tested after showing symptoms. Both are now in medical isolation. 

There have been 29 COVID-19 cases among workers at Tutwiler and nine cases among inmates, according to the department. The prison was at 175 percent capacity in April, according to the department’s monthly statistical report. 

{{CODE1}}

ADOC on Thursday announced that a worker at Tutwiler prison died after testing positive for the virus, becoming the first Alabama prison worker to have died after receiving positive test results. 

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

ADOC also announced eight new coronavirus cases among staff from five separate prisons, including the Birmingham Community Based Facility and Community Work Center, St. Clair Correctional Facility, Holman Correctional Facility, North Alabama Community Based Facility and Community Work Center and the Kilby Correctional Facility. 

Forty-one of the 65 total COVID-19 cases among inmates remained active on Monday, while 82 of the 163 cases among staff were still active. Coronavirus cases have been confirmed in 27 of the state’s 32 facilities.

Advertisement.

Eddie Burkhalter is a reporter at the Alabama Political Reporter. You can email him at [email protected] or reach him via Twitter.

Advertisement
Advertisement

More from APR

The Voice of Alabama Politics

The panel examines Tuberville’s residency case, Alabama’s prison crisis, competing affordability messages and lessons of September 11.

Featured Opinion

Seven years after Alabama promised reform, DOJ evidence describes leaders who failed to measure danger, enforce policy or protect life.

Featured Opinion

For years now, Chris England has fought the waste, fraud and abuse in Alabama's Department of Corrections. Why is he fighting alone?

Prisons

Speakers described medical neglect, violence and secrecy in Alabama prisons as auditors reported resistance from the corrections department.