US inmate scheduled to be executed tests positive for virus

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

US inmate scheduled to be executed tests positive for virus

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and MICHAEL TARM
December 17, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal prisoner scheduled to be executed just days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office has tested positive for coronavirus, his lawyer said Thursday.

The Bureau of Prisons notified attorneys for Dustin John Higgs on Thursday that their client had tested positive for the virus, his attorney Devon Porter said during a court hearing Thursday afternoon.

The revelation comes amid concern about an exploding number of coronavirus cases in the federal prison system and specifically at the complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, where the executions are carried out. It is the only federal death row.

Higgs is scheduled to be executed Jan. 15, just five days before death-penalty opponent Joe Biden’s inauguration. Higgs is the last of those currently scheduled to be executed in a series of federal executions that began in July. The Trump administration will have executed more people in a single year than any other administration in more than 130 years.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-coronavirus-pandemic-executions-terre-haute-indiana-7fd59a6fa00c24a546e77c7747bf6e87

[musclecar6]

1. Of Course

Not surprising that would happen considering who’s in charge.

[cwydro]

2. So they test people scheduled for death, while others can't get a test?

This country is beyond backwards.

[Bayard]

3. Well, that will just kill two birds with one stone

Kill a criminal, kill a spreader.