MARIANNA, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas inmate already serving life in prison has been sentenced to the death penalty in the stabbing death of a correctional officer.
A Lee County jury on Thursday convicted 34-year-old Latavious Johnson of capital murder in the January 2012 death of Cpl. Barbara Ester. Prosecutor Fletcher Long says Johnson stabbed Ester while she was working as an officer at the East Arkansas Regional Unit in Brickeys, where Johnson was serving a life sentence for the killing of his father.
Long says the stabbing happened after Ester made several attempts to confiscate contraband sneakers from Johnson.
The Times-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1wCwtNJ) that Johnson admitted in a written statement to stabbing Ester after blacking out. He apologized to her family, friends and co-workers.
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Previous Story:
