Saturday, February 21, 2009

Inmate stabbed in Jackson County, Fla. prison


By Deborah Buckhalter

Published: January 8, 2009

An inmate was stabbed in the throat at Apalachee Correctional Institution in Jackson County, Fla., around 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to Department of Corrections spokesman Gretl Plessinger.

The name of the victim was not released, with Plessinger citing medical confidentiality regulations as the reason.

Plessinger said another inmate stabbed the victim with a homemade “shank,” a knife-like object made out of a toothbrush and a razor blade. It has been seized by authorities.

The victim was taken to a hospital in Tallahassee, Fla., and was expected to be released later Thursday.

The suspect in the stabbing is Karl Smith, an inmate in DOC custody since 1980. He is serving a life term for murder. DOC records indicate the killing took place in Brevard County.

As of noon Thursday, Smith was being held in solitary confinement at ACI. Plessinger said he would likely be moved to another facility, possibly later in the day.

The stabbing occurred on the recreation yard of the east unit at the Sneads-area prison, and initial reports indicate it appeared to have been an unprovoked attack.

The stabbed inmate was standing in the yard when he was attacked. There was no prior altercation under way when the stabbing occurred, Plessinger said. No other inmates were believed to have been involved, she said.

Although the name of the stabbed inmate was not released, Plessinger did say he is serving a life term for kidnapping.

An investigation into the incident continues, Plessinger said. The wounded inmate will be held in protective solitary confinement at ACI until it can be decided whether he can be safely returned to the general population there.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

that's a great read. I hope the person was the guy who killed my love one...to bad the guy made it.