Inmate Wants To Be Released From Prison Due To Coronavirus Fears

TERRE HAUTE, Ind.  — The former CEO of a central Indiana compounding pharmacy is asking to be released from federal prison.

69 year old Paul Elmer has Type II diabetes, sleep apnea, vertigo and osteoarthritis.  He says that he is afraid that he will die behind bars from COVID-19.

Elmer is the former CEO of Pharmakon Pharmaceuticals.

He was sentenced in September to almost three years in prison for manufacturing and selling drugs that were as much as 25 times more potent than they should have been.

He is currently housed at the federal prison in Terre Haute.

Elmer’s attorney claims that social distancing is impossible in the prison setting.

His request on April 8 was denied by federal judge who said that not all administrative remedies had been attempted including giving the prison warden 30 days to make a determination.