Cory Johnson, death row inmate, tests positive for coronavirus

A second federal inmate set to be executed next month has tested positive for the coronavirus, his lawyer said Friday.

Cory Johnson, a Virginia gang member sentenced to death for his role in the murders of 10 people, tested positive for the potentially deadly virus at the federal prison complex in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Johnson is the second death row inmate to announce a coronavirus diagnosis in as many days.

On Thursday, lawyers for Dustin Higgs, who is also housed in Terre Haute, said their client also tested positive.

Johnson’s attorneys said they will ask the federal government to withdraw his execution. He is scheduled to die on Jan. 14.

“Mr. Johnson’s diagnosis will substantially interfere with his attorneys’ ability to have meaningful contact with him during these critical days before his scheduled, execution, and the widespread outbreak on the federal death row only confirms the reckless disregard for the lives and safety of staff, prisoners and attorneys alike,” defense attorneys Donald Salzman and Ronald Tabak, said in a statement.

As of Friday afternoon, there were more than 300 inmates and 27 staff members who tested positive for coronavirus.

Johnson and two fellow gang members were sentenced to death in 1993 for their role in the deaths of 10 people. An 11th homicide attributed to the gang was not prosecuted.

The victims included suspected snitches, rival dealers and those they thought disrespected the gang. One victim was stabbed 85 times, while another was shot and stabbed.

Johnson’s accomplices, James Roane and Richard Tipton, remain on death row, but no execution date has been scheduled.

Attorneys for Johnson have argued that he is exempt from the death penalty because he is intellectually disabled. They say childhood records show impairments in everyday life skills and that they can produce a slew of medical experts and associates of Johnson who can verify that claim.