A state prison inmate suffering from Valley Fever seeks release amid the pandemic.

In 1991, Timothy Johnson was sentenced to seven years-to-life in prison after a Sacramento County Superior Court jury found him guilty of aiding and abetting an attempted murder. Since then, he’s bounced around the state prison system, contracted a case of Valley Fever at one of them and filed two writs against the State Parole Board, which has denied his release.

He’s also filed three habeas writs, seeking release from prison. And in his most recent one, filed June 18 in Monterey County Superior Court, he outlines what he describes as a “death sentence environment” at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, where he’s currently incarcerated. The state Department of Correction and Rehabilitation fails to provide inmates with adequate hand soap, masks and cleaning supplies, can’t maintain social distancing for those incarcerated and is ill-equipped to protect inmates – especially those with underlying health conditions – from Covid-19.

According to data from CDCR, Johnson has reason to worry. As of July 8, 5,501 California prison inmates have tested positive for Covid-19. According to an analysis by investigative journalism nonprofit The Marshall Project, that’s over 417 cases for every 10,000 inmates – 639-percent higher than the infection rate in California overall. Of those cases, 29 have died.

Meanwhile, prison staff also suffer from Covid-19 at higher rates than the general population; 847 cases have been reported as of July 2, which is 226 percent higher than California overall. Of those, two staff members have died.

At CTF in Soledad where Johnson is incarcerated, there have been no new cases reported in the past two weeks. Across the state prison system, there have been 978 cases in the past two weeks.

Johnson’s petition, which includes reports from his prison medical team, outlines his condition, which includes a low T-cell count and chronic respiratory disease that makes even a common cold a nightmare. The Valley Fever, a condition caused when coccidioides fungi found in soil are breathed into the lungs, that he contracted in 2009 at Avenal State Prison, has morphed into Disseminated Valley Fever – both versions attack the lungs, but the latter causes chronic pneumonia.

In March, at the outset of the pandemic, the CDCR expedited parole for 3,500 inmates who were within 60 days of their release. Johnson theorizes that while his crime included violence, because it occurred nearly 30 years ago and he’s committed no violent acts while in prison, he should be eligible for early release as well.