The Associated Press
PUNTA GORDA, Fla.- A second prison inmate has been convicted of killing a guard during a botched escape attempt three years ago.
A jury found Stephen V. Smith, 45, guilty of first-degree murder Friday for the fatal beating of Darla Lathrem. He could face the death penalty.
Smith was one of three inmates charged in Lathrem’s death in June 2003 at the Charlotte Correctional Institution. Lathrem, 38, was Florida’s first female guard to be killed in the line of duty.
Prosecutors said Smith planned the escape and recruited fellow inmate Dwight Eaglin to attack Lathrem, who was unarmed.
Smith’s attorney argued that his client only wanted Lathrem to be knocked unconscious and was surprised when Eaglin hit her a second time in the head with a sledgehammer.
Inmate Charles Fuston also was killed, possibly in an attempt to protect Lathrem. A murder charge against Smith in Fuston’s death was dropped.
Smith had been serving time for burglary, kidnapping, sexual battery, murder and robbery. His sentencing hearing begins Thursday.
Eaglin has already received a death sentence. The trial for the third inmate, Michael Jones, is set for September.