coronavirus

Nearly 1,300 Inmates, More Than 400 Employees Test Positive for COVID-19 in Texas Prisons: TDCJ

Twenty-two inmates have died due to the new coronavirus

File photo of a Texas prison.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice

The new coronavirus is the likely cause of death of three more Texas inmates, bringing the total number of fatalities to 22, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Two of the people died at Hospital Galveston, one of the department's medical facilites, while the third, who was serving a sentence at a unit in New Boston, died at a local hospital.

Michael Milligan, 64, and Paul Brown, 55, both died April 26 at Hospital Galveston where they were transferred there from units in Rosharon and Huntsville, respectively. Milligan served seven years of a 30-year sentence out of Tarrant County, while Brown served seven years of a 50-year sentence out of Orange County.

Frederick Ebenal died April 23 at local hospital near where he was housed in New Boston. The TDCJ said he tested negative for the virus five days earlier, but a later test came back positive. Ebenal served 28 years of a 48-year sentence out of Tom Green County.

The families of all three men refused autopsies. However, the Texas Department of Crimical Justice said medical evidence suggested the coronavirus was the preliminary cause of death.

Nearly 1,300 offenders and more than 400 employees in the Texas criminal justice system have tested positive for the new coronavirus. Twenty-two inmates have died and 371 have recovered, according to the TDCJ.

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