Many who have died of COVID-19 in Florida's prisons were eligible for parole

ORLANDO, Fla. — When Florida’s parole board reviewed his case last fall, it had been decades since Stephen “Steve” Maxwell last resembled the “bad boy” sentenced to prison for a crime spree in the 1970s, his longtime friend Nancy Watson said.Maxwell was eligible for parole on robbery, battery and kidnapping charges. The state Commission on Offender Review decided not to grant it at the time, but indicated he would likely be released this December. Instead, Maxwell, 68, died in April from complications of COVID-19 at Sumter Correctional Institution in Bushnell.“I just keep thinking, if only,” W...

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