(CNN) A Michigan inmate who spent 44 years in prison died from Covid-19 just weeks before he was to be released on parole, the state's department of corrections said.

William Garrison, who died at age 60 last week, was serving time for first-degree murder after a shooting during a 1976 armed robbery, said Maria Miller, a spokesperson for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Garrison was 16 at the time of the shooting.

The Department of Corrections "tried to parole him earlier this year, and he refused to leave prison," said Chris Gautz, a spokesperson for the department.

Garrison said he would rather wait until his maximum sentence had been served, so he wouldn't have to be under any supervision when he left, according to Gautz.

"He did not want to be on parole, he wanted to wait and just walk out completely free from supervision in September," Gautz said.

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