Inmate left prison early due to coronavirus. Now he’s accused of murder, CO cops say

A parolee released from prison to help reduce the spread of coronavirus is being accused of murder, Colorado officials say.

Cornelius Haney, 40, pleaded guilty to robbery in 2016 and was sentenced to seven years in prison, according to the Canon City Daily Record. He was paroled April 15 to help reduce the prison population as coronavirus spread, according to the news outlet.

“Haney had a mandatory release date of Aug. 22, 2020, and would have been required to be released at that time regardless of the Parole Board decision,” Department of Corrections spokeswoman Annie Skinner said in an emailed statement to the Daily Record on Friday. “Haney was released due to special needs parole criteria. When looking at special needs parole criteria, the Department of Corrections’ medical staff reviews offenders for risk factors related to COVID as documented by the Centers for Disease Control.”

Police arrested Haney on Monday in connection with a fatal shooting of a 21-year-old Denver woman May 9, according to the Associated Press. The woman’s body was discovered in an alleyway, CBS Denver reported.

“In making those decisions, they are taking into account the safety of prison guards and others, but no prisoner who is a danger to society should be released early in any situation,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said, according to CBS Denver. “And of course, nobody on that parole board thought that this person was going to do what they allegedly did, but they couldn’t have held them much longer under the law.”

Haney is being held on charges of felony murder, second-degree murder, theft, drug possession, second-degree kidnapping and possession of a gun, according to AP.