San Quentin Inmate Dies Of Apparent Coronavirus Complications

SAN QUENTIN, CA — Another death row inmate has died at San Quentin State Prison amid an outbreak of the coronavirus at the facility in Marin County.

Pedro Arias, 58, who had been on death row since 1990, died Sunday at an outside hospital from what appears to be complications related to COVID-19, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A coroner will determine his exact cause of death.

Arias was sentenced to death on Feb. 22, 1990 in Sacramento County, for first-degree murder and second-degree robbery while armed with a firearm. He was also sentenced to life without parole for kidnapping for ransom/extortion, penetration with a foreign object, attempted sodomy, lewd
and lascivious acts on a child under 14, sodomy of a child under 14, two counts of forcible rape, second-degree robbery and enhancements for the use of a firearm.

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Arias is the latest inmate at San Quentin whose death has been linked to COVID-19. Across California, 53 state prison inmates with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have died, including 25 at San Quentin, according to the CDCR website that tracks cases and deaths.

Out of 8,795 COVID-19 cases confirmed so far among state prison inmates, 2,232 have been at San Quentin.

There are currently 713 people on California's death row. The last execution at San Quentin was in 2006.

Also see:

• California Coronavirus: Latest Updates On Cases, Orders, Closures
• Coronavirus In Marin County: Latest News
• First San Quentin State Prison Employee Dies From Coronavirus
• Marin Partners With Bay Area Company For Coronavirus Testing
• Marin County Partners With University For Coronavirus Tracing