From The Tribune staff reports
MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) released information on the June 27 death of an inmate from the St. Clair County Correctional Facility.
Billie Joe Moore, 73, was hospitalized on June 23 with complications from advanced lung cancer. Moore remained in the hospital until his death. The ADOC said Moore previously tested negative for COVID-19, but that after his death, he tested positive.
Moore was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for murder in Morgan County.
In Elmore, another inmate died on June 30, at the Staton Correctional Facility.
Henry Robinson, 56, was serving a 20-year sentence for second-degree burglary in Mobile County. Robinson was taken to a hospital on June 25 for preexisting and chronic health conditions, according to the ADOC. When he arrived at the hospital, Robinson tested positive for COVID-19. He was hospitalized until his death.
A total of 70 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed among the inmate population in Alabama. The ADOC said 40 of those remain active. As for the staff at the ADOC, there are 82 active cases. Eighty-seven staff members who previously tested positive have been cleared by medical providers to return to work.
“The ADOC’s Office of Health Services (OHS) has initiated investigations to determine which, if any, ADOC inmates or employees may have had direct, prolonged exposure to this staff member,” the ADOC said in a statement. “Upon completing the appropriate due diligence, OHS will advise any staff with direct exposure to contact their healthcare providers and self-quarantine for the recommended 14-day period, or as advised by their healthcare providers.”