CLEARFIELD, Pa. (AP) — A prosecutor says an inmate killed his cellmate at a Pennsylvania prison because he wanted his own private cell.
Lawrence Peterson Jr., 45, formerly of Easton, will now serve a life sentence on top of the 40- to 80-year term he had been serving for a violent robbery.
Clearfield County District Attorney Bill Shaw planned to pursue the death penalty but decided to skip the trial after Peterson said he was willing to plead guilty to first-degree murder and take a life sentence for the beating of 59-year-old William Keitel.
Keitel died in the infirmary at the state prison in Houtzdale nine days later.
Shaw says it would have been a “terrible waste of tax dollars” to push for a trial.
- Posted February 25, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Prosecutor: Inmate killed man to get his own cell
headlines Macomb
headlines National
- The business of successfully running an in-house department
- ACLU and BigLaw firm use ‘Orange is the New Black’ in hashtag effort to promote NY jail reform
- Justice Gorsuch writes children’s book about ‘Heroes of 1776’
- Companies use ‘deceitful tactics’ to market harmful ultra-processed products with ‘addictive nature,’ city’s suit alleges
- Lawyer accused of trying to poison her husband
- ‘Lawyers Gone Wild’? Filmmaker criticizes bar as he seeks ethics probe of serial killer’s daughter for alleged lie
