The Florida Department of Corrections is investigating the in-custody death of a 48-year-old Palatka man serving life in prison for a pair of 2016 murders. Jerry Keene Jr. was found dead Sept. 26 at Wakulla Correctional Institution in Crawfordsville, according to the Department of Corrections. “The safe and secure operation of Florida’s correctional institutions is the Department of Corrections' top priority,” the agency said Wednesday in an emailed statement. The 48-year-old was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of 44-year-old Thomas Lombardo, who was killed during an argument in January 2016. While in custody on charges in that case, Keene beat his cellmate Austin Steybe, a 20-year-old man awaiting trial in the murder of his own grandmother.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – An additional 40 state prison inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases since March to 15,852, according to information released Monday by the Florida Department of Corrections. The number of inmates who have died from the virus remained at 117. Meanwhile, the department said 2,867 corrections workers had tested positive since the pandemic began. Six prisons have had more than 100 workers test positive. Those prisons are Dade Correctional Institution, Everglades Correctional Institution, Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, South Florida Reception Center, Suwannee Correctional Institution and Wakulla Correctional Institution.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday said a dozen inmates died from complications of COVID-19 at eight prisons within the past week. Dade Correctional Institution, Everglades Correctional Institution, Lowell Correctional Institution and South Florida Reception Center each had two inmates die after testing positive for the disease. Columbia Correctional Institution, Florida Womens Reception Center, Graceville Correctional Institution and Wakulla Correctional Institution each had an inmate death. Santa Rosa Correctional Institution and Lowell Correctional Institution saw their caseloads increase by more than 100 overnight. Santa Rosa had 700 inmate cases and Lowell had 629 inmate cases as of Wednesday.