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Washington Prison Guard’s Murder Results in Demotions, Firings and $26,000 Fine
Loaded on Jan. 15, 2012
by Mark Wilson
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2012, page 38
An outside investigation has determined that the murder of a Washington Department of Corrections (WDOC) guard was the result of poor staff management and training by prison officials.
Filed under:
Prison/Jail Murders,
Staffing,
Failure to Train/Supervise,
Guards/Staff,
Assaults on Staff,
Failure to Protect (Staff).
Location:
Washington.
On January 29, 2011, prisoner Byron Scherf, 52, strangled WDOC guard Jayme Biendl, 34, to death in the chapel of the Monroe …
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More from this issue:
- Days Without End: Life Sentences and Penal Reform, by Marie Gottschalk
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Family of Prisoner Strangled in Oklahoma GEO Private Prison Awarded $6.5 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- Florida, Arizona Sell and Lease Back Prisons and Other State Buildings
- The Societal Impact of the Prison Industrial Complex, or Incarceration for Fun and Profit—Mostly Profit, by Alex Friedmann
- Virginia Wrongful Death Jail Suit Against Correct Care Solutions Settled for $1 Million
- Problems at North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab
- Federal Judge Sanctions Florida Sheriff’s Attorney for Threatening Plaintiff with Arrest
- PLN Wins $230,000 in Settlement that Ends Spokane, Washington Jail’s Postcard-Only Rule
- Budget Crisis Closes Oregon Prison for First Time in 159 Years
- Deaths at Texas Jail Reveal Health Care Deficiencies
- California Prison Industry Authority Offers to Replace Offensive Grave Markers
- Texas Prisoner’s Denial of Dentures Claim Affirmed in Part, Reversed in Part by Fifth Circuit
- Oregon Prisoner Property Claims Cost State $60,000 Annually
- Typewriters Alive and Well in American Prisons Despite Reports of Their Demise
- Review: Directory of Inmate Shopping Services E-Commerce, by Michael Brodheim
- Washington Prison Guard’s Murder Results in Demotions, Firings and $26,000 Fine, by Mark Wilson
- California Criminalizes Cell Phone Smuggling, Seeks Technology to Block Cell Phone Calls from Prisons
- North Carolina Warden Charged With Obstruction in Beating Coverup
- BOP Fails to Prove Non-Exhaustion Following Pavey Hearing, by Mark Wilson
- Illinois Prison Wages Cannot be Attached to Satisfy Incarceration Costs, by David Reutter
- North Carolina Jury Awards $10 Million in Wrongful Death Suit Against Taser, by Matthew Clarke
- Audit Finds California Prison Employees Routinely Work Less Than 40 Hours a Week
- CMS Pays $275,000 in New York Prisoner’s Jail Death
- Tennessee Court Again Orders CCA to Produce Records in PLN Public Records Case
- Prisoner Bike Repair Program Benefits St. Louis Kids
- Aramark Loses Laundry Contract to Oregon Prisoners
- Russian Prison Officials Sentenced for Torture and Rape of Prisoners, by Matthew Clarke
- California Muslim Prisoner Afforded Access to Kosher Diet Pending Implementation of “Religious Meat Alternate Program”
- Head of Missouri Jail Sentenced for Beating, Arranging Attacks on Prisoners
- Oregon Discontinues Failed Prisoner Deportation Program
- Prisoners Contribute to Flood Control Efforts in Louisiana
- News in Brief:
More from Mark Wilson:
- Indiana Prisoner Sues Prison Abolition Group, Wins $1,097 Default Judgment, April 26, 2024
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Minnesota Jail Guard Accused of Grabbing and Squeezing Detainee’s Penis, Feb. 1, 2024
- Former Oregon Prison Nurse Gets 30 Years for Raping Prisoners, Dec. 1, 2023
- After Ninth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration, National Class Certified in HRDC’s Challenge to Jail and Prison Debit Card Fees, Oct. 15, 2023
- Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Knee Surgery Delayed 29 Months, Oct. 15, 2023
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit, Finding Grievance Procedure Availability an Open Question, Oct. 15, 2023
- Congress Forces BOP to Upgrade Security Cameras, Sept. 15, 2023
- Oregon Will Hold Release Hearings for 73 Prisoners Sentenced to LWOP as Juveniles, Sept. 15, 2023
- Senators Slam “Egregious” Prisoner Sexual Abuse by BOP Employees, Sept. 15, 2023
- Minnesota Supreme Court Denies Qualified Immunity for Delayed Transfer of Sex Offenders, Sept. 15, 2023
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- Prisoners in Norfolk, Virginia Left on Extended Lockdown, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Telephone Access, Extended Family Visiting, Failure to Protect (Staff).
- Nearly 50 People Have Died in ICE Custody Since Trump’s Return to White House, May 1, 2026. LaSalle Management Company, Systemic Medical Neglect, Staffing, Suicides, Immigration Detention.
- Oklahoma DOC Paid Prison Guards $35.5 Million in Overtime in 2025, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Staffing, Staff Training.
- Negligence, Lack of Training at Ohio’s Cuyahoga County Jail Led to String of Deaths, May 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Drug Overdose, Jail Specific, Failure to Train/Supervise, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Prisons in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula “in a Death Spiral” Due to Under-Staffing, May 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Rural Prisons, Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Assaults on Staff.
- Judge Denies New York Prison Chief’s Motion to be Dismissed from Case Related to Robert Brooks’ Murder, May 1, 2026. Work Strikes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Failure to Train/Supervise, Police--Excessive Force, Deliberate Indifference.
- Houston Jail Renews $38 Million Contract to Outsource Detainees to Private Lockups, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Failure to Treat, Overcrowding, Staffing, Medical Neglect/Malpractice.
- Death of Washington Jail Standards Bill Risks Repeat of $2.5 Million Settlement That Closed One County’s Jail, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, Staff Training, State Legislation.
- Hawai’i Settles Prison Mental Healthcare Class-Action With $100,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Expert Inspection That Produces Damning Report, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.

