Tag: inmate

Montana Inmate Confesses to 1968 Slaying, Dismemberment

HELENA, Mont.—A Montana prison inmate serving a 100-year sentence for killing his wife in 1983 has confessed to strangling, sexually assaulting, and dismembering a 19-year-old Helena woman 15 years earlier, authorities said Friday. Courtney Brooke Atlas, 79, confessed to killing Pamela Ann Dorrington, who disappeared in 1968. Part of her torso was found near the…


Alabama Inmate Who Survived Execution Attempt Dies of Cancer

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—An Alabama inmate whose lethal injection was halted because medical staff couldn’t find a suitable vein for the execution has died of natural causes almost four years later, his lawyer said Monday. Doyle Lee Hamm, who was convicted in the slaying of a motel clerk in 1987, died of natural causes on death row,…


Colorado Officials Scrapping ‘Sex Offender’ Term, Citing ‘Negative Effects’

A Colorado board voted on Friday to no longer recognize the term “sex offender” in official documentation for people who commit sexual offenses to reflect so-called “person-first” language. The Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB), which controls treatment standards for people convicted of sex crimes, voted 10–6 to call offenders “adults who commit sexual offenses”…


Inmate-Trained Canines Graduate from Sheriff COLLAR Program

ORANGE, Calif.—After being trained by Theo Lacy Facility inmates for seven weeks, two canines graduated from the Orange County Sheriff Department’s Canines Offering Life Lessons and Rewards (COLLAR) program Oct. 7, something that allows inmates to lead a more enriching experience and take on added responsibilities while serving their sentence. The program takes dogs who…


Ex-Nevada Inmate Gets Life for 1984 Colorado Hammer Killings

CENTENNIAL, Colo.—A former Nevada prison inmate was sentenced Tuesday to three consecutive life sentences in the long-unsolved 1984 hammer killings of three Colorado family members, including a 7-year-old girl, inside their suburban Denver home. Sixty-one-year-old Alex Ewing was convicted Aug. 6 of first-degree murder after a two-day trial in which prosecutors contended Ewing used a…


Inmate Steals, Wrecks Fire Engine in Daring Escape Attempt

An inmate firefighter took the meaning of Independence Day to a new level when he stole a fire engine July 4 in an apparent escape attempt, authorities say. The 31-year-old Orange County, Calif. man was fighting a vegetation fire in Shingle Springs, east of Sacramento, when he apparently dropped his hose for a shot at freedom. He stole a…


Absent Media, Texas Executes Inmate Who Killed Great Aunt

HUNTSVILLE, Texas—A Texas man convicted of fatally beating his 83-year-old great aunt more than two decades ago was executed Wednesday evening without media witnesses present because prison agency officials neglected to notify reporters it was time to carry out the punishment. Quintin Jones received the lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the…


Guard Killed, Another Wounded in Stabbing at Indiana Prison

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind.—An Indiana inmate convicted of a 2002 triple murder fatally stabbed one corrections officer and seriously injured another at the maximum-security prison where he’s serving a 130-year sentence, authorities said Monday. The wounded Indiana State Prison officers were transported Sunday to a hospital in Michigan City, where one was pronounced dead and the…


Alabama Would Be 1st State to Execute an Inmate This Year

MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Alabama would be the first state to carry out an execution this year if it proceeds with plans to put to death a 51-year-old inmate convicted of the shotgun slaying of a police detective’s sister decades ago. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay blocking the Thursday night execution, but the…