Man who spent 44-years in prison dies of coronavirus weeks to his release

After serving close to 44 years in prison, William Garrison from Michigan who was set to be released in a few weeks to come died of Coronavirus. NYPost reports that William was sentenced as a juvenile, he was charged with life in prison after a 1976 home invasion resulted in Garrison shooting and killing a man…

After serving close to 44 years in prison, William Garrison from Michigan who was set to be released in a few weeks to come died of Coronavirus.

NYPost reports that William was sentenced as a juvenile, he was charged with life in prison after a 1976 home invasion resulted in Garrison shooting and killing a man at the age of 16.

His sentence was cut in half in January, and he was offered the choice of an immediate release on parole or release without parole in September.

Garrison chose release without parole, saying that he wanted to serve the remainder of his sentence (about seven months) so that he would be able to walk completely free, without the need for parole.

Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Chris Gautz issued a statement to the Detroit Free Press regarding Garrison’s passing.

Gautz claimed the prison staff went cell to cell to assess prisoners in the days before Garrison died, and Garrison’s bunkmate claimed he did not suffer from any COVID-19 symptoms besides a cough.

But Garrison’s sister, who was preparing for him to live with her following his release in early May, disputes their accounts of events.

“My brother shouldn’t have died in there like that,” Yolanda Peterson told the Detroit Free Press. “He was trying to get free.”

Garrison had appealed for an early release to avoid the COVID-19 outbreak at Macomb. Gautz claimed a post-mortem autopsy confirmed Garrison had coronavirus, while a test confirmed that Garrison’s bunkmate was negative.

Gautz called the situation “unfortunate all the way around,” noting that Garrison could have paroled earlier this year.

As of Sunday, Michigan has seen at least 30,791 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,308 deaths. Michigan has recently seen a drop in new cases, falling from the third-most infected state to the fifth-most over the past few days.

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