Bureau of Prisons reports death of second inmate at FCC-Forrest City
A second inmate at the Federal Correctional Complex- Forrest City has died of complications of the coronavirus, according to a press release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The BOP reported Chester Ray Stitts Jr., 55, died Tuesday.
Stitts had been sentenced in the Eastern District of Texas to a 156- month sentence for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He had been in custody at the Forrest City complex since January 2018.
According to the press release, Stitts tested positive for Covid at the FCC- FC’s medium complex on Dec. 23, with Bureau officials saying he was “immediately placed in medical isolation.”
“Stitts was evaluated by medical staff on Jan. 31 for nausea and weakness and was subsequently transported to a local hospital for further treatment and evaluation,” said BOP officials in the press release. On Saturday, Feb. 6, “his condition worsened and he was placed on a ventilator.”
The BOP said Stitts had “preexisting medical conditions which the CDC lists as risk factors for developing more severe Covid-19 disease.”
The first inmate death reported at the FCC-FC was that of Sean McQuiddy, 54, who died at a hospital on Jan. 9, about three weeks after being placed on a ventilator, according to a BOP press release.
Prison officials said McQuiddy also had long-term pre-existing medical conditions.
According to the BOP’s most recent report on Covid in the prison system, two inmates at the medium complex and one at the low currently have Covid. The report also shows that 62 FCC-FC staff members are dealing with active cases of the illness.
The BOP on Wednesday reported 33 active cases among staff and two active cases among inmates at the facility’s medium security complex. At the low complex, one inmate is reportedly infected with the virus along with 29 staff members.
The report also shows that 1,107 FCC- FC inmates have recovered from Covid.
Across the federal prison system, officials report 220 inmates and four staff members have died of complications of the virus.