Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Video Of PA Prison Guard's Killing Could Be On The Docket For Death Penalty Case

Federal Bureau of Prisons

 

Federal prosecutors say an inmate's killing of a guard at a federal prison in Pennsylvania was a calculated slaying that saw the suspect pause to chew a piece of gum he took from the dying man's pocket.

Federal prosecutors detailed the attack in court documents filed Monday, arguing that a jury should see surveillance video showing the 9-minute attack, and 22-minute aftermath in which guard Eric Williams lay dying before other guards arrived.

Jessie Con-ui is charged in the February 2013 stabbing death of Williams at the Canaan federal prison in Waymart.

Defense attorneys don't dispute he killed Williams. But they're opposing the death penalty and claim the stabbing was an angry retaliation for alleged mistreatment by guards, not the calculated slaying prosecutors contend.

A ruling on the video evidence is pending.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.