Prisoner In Michigan Succumbs To COVID-19 Weeks Before Parole

William Garrison was charged and sentenced with life after being found guilty of a crime in 1976. According to reports, the crime involved a home invasion, which resulted in Garrison shooting and killing a person when he was still 16 years old.

In January, his sentence was cut in half and was given the option of being released immediately on parole or for him to be released without parole in September. Reports say he chose the latter. On Monday night, his prison bunkmate found Garrison having extreme breathing difficulties inside their two-person cell within the Macomb Correctional Facility.

An Unfortunate Event

A spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections, Chris Gautz, has issued a statement regarding the matter. In a statement to the Detroit Free Press, Gautz said that the situation was “unfortunate all the way around,” and noted that Garrison could have opted for release earlier this year. Garrison had served almost 44 years of his sentence before succumbing to COVID-19.

According to Gautz, the prison staff inspected every cell to check on the prisoners during the days before Garrison died. The bunkmate of Garrison, on the other hand, said he did not observe anything from Garrison other than he was coughing.

A Different Account

The sister of Garrison, however, did not accept the statement as reflective of what really took place. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Yolanda Peterson said she was preparing for his brother to live with her after his scheduled release in early May. She said her brother should not have died inside the prison like that. “He was trying to get free,” Ms. Peterson told the Detroit Free Press. She said that Garrison had appealed to officials for his early release in a bid to avoid the alleged COVID-19 outbreak at Macomb.

Gautz said that a post-mortem autopsy performed on Garrison confirmed he had acquired COVID-19 infection. A test was also administered to the bunkmate of Garrison, but this turned out later as negative. The confirmed cases of coronavirus infection in Michigan as of Sunday stand at 31,424, along with 2,391 fatalities. The state has experienced a drop in new cases of COVID-19.