Post by Dave Stafford on Feb 27, 2010 16:09:57 GMT -5
Inmate charged with prison murder
By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
February 22, 2010 08:09 pm
— ANDERSON, Ind. — A former inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of another prisoner.
Richard L. Short, 26, is accused of using a prison shank to stab Charles L. Jackson, 52, who died within an hour of being stabbed five times in his cell on Jan. 23.
Madison County Prosecutor Thomas J. Broderick Jr. on Monday said he would try Short on a Class A felony charge of murder and a Class B felony charge of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner.
“It was a matter of seconds” between when Short was seen on cell block video entering Jackson’s cell and when Short emerged, Broderick said. Short was in Jackson’s cell for seven seconds when the deadly attack took place, based on the time stamp on the prison video, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Less than a minute later, a bleeding Jackson emerged from his cell, according to the affidavit.
Jackson was discovered bleeding in the cell block at 1:28 p.m., and identified Short as his attacker, the affidavit said. Medical personnel worked on Jackson, but could not save his life. He was pronounced dead at 2:17 p.m.
A coroner’s report ruled the fatal injuries came from two stab wounds to the chest. “There was a lot of internal bleeding,” Broderick said.
Investigators interviewed Short twice on the evening of the attack. He initially denied involvement and said he was elsewhere at the time of the assault, the affidavit said. When investigators interviewed him later, they confronted him with the video and other evidence.
“‘What do you want me to say? I’m not gonna. It happened. Charge me. Whatever. Let’s get this over with,” Short is reported as telling investigators. He later is quoted in the affidavit as telling investigators that he “just ran in and did what I had to do and got out.”
Investigators repeatedly asked Short if his attack on Jackson was gang-related. At one point, the affidavit said that Short replied, “I can’t get into the issue.”
Short was transferred to the higher-security Wabash Valley Correctional Facility after the attack. According to investigators’ reports, an officer there found a letter in which he writes that he is “in a world of trouble” because he “went to (Jackson’s) cell and stabbed him up.”
Short was in a block to which he was not assigned when the attack took place. He told investigators that he had entered Jackson’s cell block through an unlocked door.
Broderick said Short would be transferred to Madison County for an initial hearing, likely within two to three weeks. He said Short had been serving a 40-year sentence for a conviction in Hamilton County for a burglary that resulted in a death.
According to the Indiana Department of Correction, Jackson had been at the Pendleton facility serving an 80-year conviction on charges of attempted rape and criminal confinement.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com
By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
February 22, 2010 08:09 pm
— ANDERSON, Ind. — A former inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility has been charged with murder in the stabbing death of another prisoner.
Richard L. Short, 26, is accused of using a prison shank to stab Charles L. Jackson, 52, who died within an hour of being stabbed five times in his cell on Jan. 23.
Madison County Prosecutor Thomas J. Broderick Jr. on Monday said he would try Short on a Class A felony charge of murder and a Class B felony charge of possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner.
“It was a matter of seconds” between when Short was seen on cell block video entering Jackson’s cell and when Short emerged, Broderick said. Short was in Jackson’s cell for seven seconds when the deadly attack took place, based on the time stamp on the prison video, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Less than a minute later, a bleeding Jackson emerged from his cell, according to the affidavit.
Jackson was discovered bleeding in the cell block at 1:28 p.m., and identified Short as his attacker, the affidavit said. Medical personnel worked on Jackson, but could not save his life. He was pronounced dead at 2:17 p.m.
A coroner’s report ruled the fatal injuries came from two stab wounds to the chest. “There was a lot of internal bleeding,” Broderick said.
Investigators interviewed Short twice on the evening of the attack. He initially denied involvement and said he was elsewhere at the time of the assault, the affidavit said. When investigators interviewed him later, they confronted him with the video and other evidence.
“‘What do you want me to say? I’m not gonna. It happened. Charge me. Whatever. Let’s get this over with,” Short is reported as telling investigators. He later is quoted in the affidavit as telling investigators that he “just ran in and did what I had to do and got out.”
Investigators repeatedly asked Short if his attack on Jackson was gang-related. At one point, the affidavit said that Short replied, “I can’t get into the issue.”
Short was transferred to the higher-security Wabash Valley Correctional Facility after the attack. According to investigators’ reports, an officer there found a letter in which he writes that he is “in a world of trouble” because he “went to (Jackson’s) cell and stabbed him up.”
Short was in a block to which he was not assigned when the attack took place. He told investigators that he had entered Jackson’s cell block through an unlocked door.
Broderick said Short would be transferred to Madison County for an initial hearing, likely within two to three weeks. He said Short had been serving a 40-year sentence for a conviction in Hamilton County for a burglary that resulted in a death.
According to the Indiana Department of Correction, Jackson had been at the Pendleton facility serving an 80-year conviction on charges of attempted rape and criminal confinement.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com