Federal Inmates Sentenced to Death for Brutal Murder of Fellow Prisoner
SPRINGFIELD, MO – In a shocking turn of events, two federal inmates have been sentenced to death for the murder of another inmate at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.
The victims, identified as Wesley Paul Coonce Jr., 34, and Charles Michael Hall, 43, were found guilty on May 7, 2014, of first-degree murder in the brutal killing of Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51, on January 26, 2010.
Castro-Rodriguez was found dead on the floor of his cell, a victim of a senseless and brutal attack. Coonce, serving a life sentence for a kidnapping and carjacking that involved the brutal rape of a young woman, and Hall, serving a combined 194-month sentence for making threatening communications against a federal judge and a federal prosecutor, were both implicated in the murder.
The trial, which began on April 28, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner of the Western District of Missouri, uncovered a disturbing pattern of violence at the prison facility.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert and Trial Attorney James D. Peterson of the Capital Case Section, the evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Coonce and Hall targeted Castro-Rodriguez for murder, in part, because he intervened to help a Bureau of Prisons employee as he was being attacked by another inmate.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell and U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson praised the efforts of the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons in investigating the case, as well as the patience and commitment of the citizens who served on the jury.
‘Two federal inmates senselessly killed another inmate, and today, they have been brought to justice,’ said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. ‘The Justice Department is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all Bureau of Prisons employees and inmates.’
‘Achieving justice sometimes requires us to ask our citizens to make the most difficult sentencing decisions,’ said U.S. Attorney Dickinson. ‘We appreciate their patience and commitment throughout trial. The defendants’ conduct strikes at the heart of our justice system, which depends upon the safety and security of our penal institutions.’
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