The federal prison system has recorded its first death attributed to the novel coronavirus pandemic as criminal justice reform advocates and public health experts urge officials to consider releasing inmates to slow the contagion.

Patrick Jones, 49, was transferred to a hospital from a minimum security prison in Oakdale, La., on March 19, tested positive for Covid-19 — the disease caused by the virus — and was placed on a ventilator the next day, according to a statement from the Bureau of Prisons. Jones, who had "long-term, pre-existing medical conditions" that were considered risk factors for severe coronavirus illness, died Saturday at the hospital, the statement said.


Jones was serving a 30-year sentence for drug trafficking. After a jury trial in 2007, he was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute half a kilogram of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a junior college.