Georgia prison sergeant dies from COVID-19 complications

A 19-year veteran of the Georgia Department of Corrections has died from COVID-19 complications, the agency said Monday.

Sgt. Grace Bellamy worked at Wilcox State Prison in Abbeville, about 75 miles south of Macon, according to the DOC.

“We will never forget her commitment to public safety and the state of Georgia,” the agency posted in a social media message. “The entire GDC team sends our deepest condolences, thoughts and prayer to Sgt. Bellamy’s family and loved ones today and in the days and weeks to come.”

Bellamy is the second state corrections employee to die from coronavirus complications in as many days.

On Saturday, the agency announced the death of Tomeka Simpson-Dumas, who served as the agency’s American with Disabilities Act coordinator.

According to the Officers Down Memorial Page, Bellamy becomes the fifth Georgia officer to die from the coronavirus this year, with more deaths here than any other state. Police departments in Henry County, Alamo, and at Lanier Technical College and the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office have also lost officers, a police sergeant and a sheriff’s captain to complications from the virus.

In Georgia, 88 state inmates have died from the coronavirus out of 3,325 positive cases, according to the DOC.