Rhode Island Correctional Officer Dies From Coronavirus

CRANSTON, RI — A Rhode Island correctional officer died of complications from the coronavirus, the state's Department of Corrections announced Monday. Lt. Russell Freeman served in the women's facility.

"It is with a heavy heart that I must report the loss of Lt. Russell Freeman, who passed away
early this morning from complications of COVID-19," corrections department Director Patricia Coyne -Fague said in a statement.

Freeman worked with the department for nearly three decades. In 2006, he was promoted to the Special Investigations Unit, before becoming a lieutenant in 2014 and moving to the women's facility.

According to the department, Freeman's personnel file was "replete with commendations and letters of appreciation for his work, and he was a credit to this department."

Freeman's wife, Lisa Favino-Freeman, is also a correctional officer who works in the medium security facility. The couple have three children.

"This is a terrible loss for the Department," Coyne-Fague said. "We can — and we will — get through this together."

Like the rest of the state, Rhode Island's prisons are experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases. The largest outbreak was in the maximum security facility, where more than 600 cases were reported. The department did not specify if Freeman's case came from the prison.

On Monday, the first doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine arrived in Rhode Island. While the first doses will go to front-line health care workers and nursing home residents, prisoners and prison staff are scheduled to receive the vaccine in phase two of Rhode Island's distribution plan, which also includes K-12 teachers and staff, child care workers and all older adults.

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