Man awaiting release from prison gets virus
Ex-ODU student was sentenced to 10 years after multi-car crash
Matthew Rushin, a former Old Dominion University student set to be released from prison in March after being granted a conditional pardon from the governor, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to his mother.
Rushin was informed of the result Monday, four days after the test was administered, Lavern Rushin said. He had been experiencing symptoms — such as severe congestion and headaches — for several days and repeatedly asked for a test before one was given to him, she said.
The 22-year-old is housed at Nottoway Correctional Center in Burkeville. He’s scheduled to be released March 29.
His family has been especially concerned about him contracting the disease because of preexisting conditions, including an untreated cyst on his pituitary gland, Lavern Rushin said.
According to the Virginia Department of Corrections website, Nottoway has had 499 diagnosed COVID-19 cases among its inmates.
Currently, there are 54 inmates from Nottoway with active cases, the website says. Two are hospitalized with the disease and one has died, the website says.
Rushin, who has autism, was 20 and a mechanical engineering student at ODU when he was involved in a multi-car crash Jan. 4, 2019, near the Hilltop Shopping Center in Virginia Beach.
A New York man was severely and permanently disabled as a result, and his wife was seriously injured. Witnesses at the scene told police that Rushin said he was trying to kill himself after he emerged from his SUV.
Rushin later pleaded guilty to malicious wounding and hit and run and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, a term that exceeded state sentencing guidelines. The guidelines had suggested he serve between two years and seven months and six years and four months.
Rushin’s family said he didn’t fully understand what he was doing when he entered the plea and have repeatedly denied that he was suicidal. A variety of experts enlisted by them afterward determined the crash was not intentional and that his autism played a role.
His family and attorney submitted a pardon request to the governor in June that included the new information they’d gathered. In November, Gov. Ralph Northam granted a conditional pardon that reduced Rushin’s sentence but did not wipe out his conviction.
As of Wednesday, more than 415,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Rushin’s immediate release.
Among those who’ve been assisting in the effort are Jason Flom, a music industry executive, philanthropist and advocate for the wrongly convicted, author John Grisham, actress Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tina Knowles Lawson — better known as Beyonce’s mother.
At 3 p.m. Thursday, Lawson and Lavern Rushin will be talking about the case live on Lawson’s Instagram page, @mstinalawson, Lavern Rushin said.