Corey Johnson, a federal death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed next month, has tested positive for COVID-19, his legal team said Friday.
Johnson is one of three federal inmates on death row scheduled to be executed before President Donald Trump leaves office on January 20. Dustin Higgs, another federal death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed the day after Johnson, also tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. Both inmates are based at U.S. Penitentiary Terre Haute in Indiana.
Attorneys Donald Salzman and Ronald Tabak, both of whom represent Johnson, called for the federal government to halt scheduled executions due to virus-related concerns in a statement shared with Newsweek.
Corey Johnson, a federal death row inmate scheduled to be executed on January 14, 2021, has tested positive for COVID-19, his attorneys said Friday. In the photo above, a sign sits at the entrance of the Federal Correctional Complex on July 13, 2020 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Scott Olson/Getty
“Not surprisingly, given the growing outbreak on federal death row, Corey Johnson also has now tested positive for COVID-19,” the attorneys’ statement said. “The government must stop conducting executions during a COVID-19 outbreak in the facility, and we have called on the Department of Justice to withdraw Mr. Johnson’s execution date.
“Mr. Johnson’s diagnosis will substantially interfere with his attorneys’ ability to have meaningful contact with him during these critical days before his scheduled execution, and the widespread outbreak on the federal death row only confirms the reckless disregard for the lives and safety of staff, prisoners, and attorneys alike. If the government will not withdraw the execution date, we will ask the courts to intervene,” the statement said.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment and will update this article with any response.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
