Prison inmate convicted of assaulting cellmates

February 26, 2013 @ 6:06 pm

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A jury in Spokane has convicted a state prison inmate accused of blinding a cellmate and beating another cellmate in a gruesome attack in 2010 at Airway Heights Corrections Center.

The jury deliberated for just a few hours Tuesday before finding Michael West Jr. guilty of first- and second degree assault.

Defense attorney Derek Reid had argued that West should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The 36-year-old was earlier convicted of murder for killing a cellmate in 2004 in the Spokane County Jail.

The Spokesman-Review reports ( http://goo.gl/r3TNo) that the state Department of Corrections is facing a civil suit filed on behalf of the cellmate blinded in the 2010 attack, after prison officials agreed to transfer West from the maximum security prison in Walla Walla to the medium security prison in Airway Heights.

___

Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
More Local News
Top Stories

  • Bridge Opening
    A temporary bridge span across the Skagit River will be opening Wednesday

  • What to Eat?
    Woman living on light reveals what her first meal will be after 47 days without food

  • How To Fight Back
    Upset with the NSA? Just talk like a terrorist, all the time
MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (1)


  • Add A Comment

  • maplefish wrote...
    So happy
    February 27, 2013 5:52 pm
    We the People are spending $40K + a year to keep this piece of shiit alive...Maybe we could add this guy to the sequester cuts and eliminate him from the human race....Obama? You out there?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }