2 more state prison inmates, 1 staffer die of covid-19

Two more Pennsylvania state prison inmates and one prison employee have died from the coronavirus, according to data from the state Department of Corrections.

The latest inmates to die from covid-19 were incarcerated at SCI-Huntingdon in Huntington County. The facility has seen 62 inmates test positive for the virus along with 45 prison employees.

A staff member at SCI-Phoenix in Montgomery County near Norristown also has died from the virus, according to the state data. Three inmates there have died, and 37 total inmates have tested positive. Seventy employees also have had the virus.

Across the state prison system, 226 inmates have tested positive for the virus, and 921 have been tested. Of the 439 employees who have been tested, 157 have had the virus.

There remain 1,934 people incarcerated at Hungtingdon. That is down 49 since this time last month.

One person there has been granted a temporary reprieve under the governor’s April order; 31 have been eligible.

The population at SCI-Phoenix is down by 86 since last month — nine through the reprieve program. Forty-eight have been eligible, according to DOC data.

Since the governor’s temporary reprieve order — meant to reduce the prison population by letting eligible, nonviolent individuals temporarily serve their sentences under home monitoring — just 151 of the more than 1,200 inmates deemed eligible have been granted a reprieve.

Eligible inmates must meet a host of criteria, including being incarcerated for nonviolent crimes. Their release date must be within the next nine months or, for those considered highly vulnerable to the virus, 12 months.