Judge: Jury can see chilling video of prison guard’s killing
WILKES-BARRE (AP) – A federal judge says a jury can see surveillance video showing the killing of a guard at a federal prison in Pennsylvania when the inmate involved stands trial in April.
Defense attorneys don’t dispute that inmate Jessie Con-ui is responsible for the February 2013 stabbing death of guard Eric Williams at the Canaan federal prison in Waymart. But they were hoping a judge would exclude the grisly video from evidence as they try to spare him the death penalty.
But prosecutors say the video proves Con-ui killed Williams in a calculated attack during which Con-ui even paused to chew a piece of gum he took from the dying guard’s pocket.
The ruling allows prosecutors to show the video only during the guilt phase of the trial, not the penalty phase.