Plenty of prisoners have been asked to be released so they don’t get the new coronavirus, but one inmate is asking to be freed so he can help find a COVID-19 cure. Chicago microbiologist Wyndham Lathem, a bubonic plague expert, is jailed on charges he and an Oxford University administrator stabbed to death Lathem’s hairstylist boyfriend after months of planning. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Lathem asked a judge to free him on $1 million bail so he could put his research skills to use during the pandemic, “With his background and experience, Dr. Lathem is well-suited to advise and participate in studies that are aimed at understanding SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. William Goldman, chair of Microbiology and Immunology at University of North Carolina, wrote to the court. “It would make sense to take advantage of as many experts as possible during this worldwide crisis that is rapidly expanding in scope.” The judge rejected the motion.
Read it at Chicago Sun-Times
