WALLA WALLA, Wash. (AP) - An inmate at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla has become the third incarcerated person to die in a state prison from COVID-19.
The Department of Corrections says 62-year-old Michael Cornethan died on Saturday at a Walla Walla medical facility of COVID-19 and other health related issues.
Cornethan had been in prison since 1983, serving a a sentence of life without parole for aggravated murder out of King County. He had been housed in long-term medium custody at the Washington State Penitentiary.
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The prison’s Medium Security Units are currently on quarantine status to further contain the spread of COVID-19.
Two earlier COVID-19 related deaths occurred in June at the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell.
The Washington State Penitentiary currently has 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among staff, and 110 confirmed cases among prisoners.
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