Inmate dies of Covid-19 weeks after giving birth while on a ventilator

A 30-year-old woman serving a 26-month sentence for maintaining a drug-affiliated business died of COVID-19 on Tuesday several weeks after giving birth to her child while she was on a ventilator, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons said.

The death of Andrea Circle Bear, the first female federal inmate to succumb to the respiratory disease, and the circumstances surrounding it will likely fuel more anger among criminal justice reform advocates and families of incarcerated relatives who have criticized the Justice Department for a confusing rollout of rules to release non-violent offenders into home confinement.