A corrections officer at the troubled Smith State Prison in Georgia died Sunday after an inmate assaulted him with a homemade weapon, the state’s Department of Corrections said.
Officer Robert Clark was escorting two inmates, Layton Lester, and Marko Willingham, from the dining hall at Smith State Prison when Mr. Lester assaulted him from behind, the department said.
Mr. Willingham was also injured when he stepped in to protect Mr. Clark during the attack.
Both victims were taken to local hospitals. The 41-year-old officer died later that day of his wounds.
Mr. Willingham remains hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
“The entire GDC team is mourning the loss of one of our own and we collectively express our deepest condolences to Officer Clark’s family and friends,” commissioner Tyrone Oliver said. “We will support them as they navigate this tragedy over the coming days, weeks, and months.”
Mr. Clark began working with the Georgia Department of Corrections in April.
According to the department, Mr. Lester will be charged with assault, resulting in the death of Officer Clark and over the assault of Mr. Willingham.
State jail records show Mr. Lester has been imprisoned since 2010 for numerous crimes, including armed robbery and a murder committed in 2007.
Governor Brian P. Kemp expressed his condolences over the killing.
Trouble at Smith State Prison
The killing is the latest in a series of troubling incidents at Smith State Prison in Glennville.
In February, the prison’s warden, Brian Adams, was fired and charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, bribery, false statements, and violation of oath by a public officer.
In May 2022, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to investigate possible corruption at the prison after evidence was uncovered during a murder investigation.
The investigation revealed that a gunman entered the wrong house, where he shot an 88-year-old army veteran in January 2021, when the intended target was an officer who worked at Smith State Prison.
According to the GBI, Nathan Weeks, one of the four men indicted on conspiracy to commit murder, was involved with contraband smuggling inside Smith State Prison.
A recent investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published on Sept. 21 revealed that hundreds of Georgia Department of Corrections employees have been arrested on accusations of smuggling contraband into prisons since 2018.