A federal appeals court has denied the request of former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski to be released from the Danbury, Connecticut, prison on humanitarian grounds.

Pawlowski, 54, had petitioned the court to gain a temporary release because the coronavirus epidemic has infected inmates and employees at the federal facility. In his appeal, Pawlowski’s attorney Jack McMahon said his client has a weakened immune system and just one lung, and he had been treated for a heart problem while in prison.

Pawlowski was sentenced in 2018 to 15 years in prison for his part in a pay-for-play scheme in the city. He was in his fourth term before his resignation.

Pawlowski’s wife, Lisa, fears that her husband is at high risk, and she doesn’t want him to die in prison.