Two dozen California State Prison inmates die of Covid-19; 40% infected till now
Last Updated IST
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officer wears a protective mask as he stands guard at the front gate of San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California. Credit: AFP Photo
Authorities in California say two more death row inmates have died from apparent complications of the coronavirus in the midst of an outbreak that has infected 40 percent of inmates at San Quentin State Prison.
The corrections department says Scott Erskine and Manuel Machado Alvarez died Friday.
Erskine was on death row for the 1993 murder of two boys, aged nine and 13, in San Diego. Alvarez was there for a 1987 series of crimes that included rape, robbery, carjacking, and murder in Sacramento.
There have now been two dozen deaths from Covid-19 in California's prison system.