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Thread: Byron Eugene Scherf - Washington

  1. #21
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    Tension takes toll at Monroe prison

    Some corrections officers who worked alongside Jayme Biendl can't help but feel like they let her down.

    The anger, guilt and unanswered questions have been festering in private since Biendl was strangled at her post Jan. 29.

    People who could have checked on Biendl, and maybe kept her alive, weren't where they were supposed to be, according to a corrections officer who was working at the Washington State Reformatory the night she was killed.

    Monroe Correctional Complex officers should have noticed sooner that Biendl hadn't left her post at the reformatory, said the man, who spoke on the condition that his name not be published. Officers should have realized a convicted rapist was alone with her inside the chapel, after all inmates should have been cleared from the area, the man said in multiple interviews.

    "I feel like staff failed her," he said. "Her backup failed her."

    Accusations have been flying among staff. Nasty comments have been yelled out at roll call meetings, he said.

    Biendl was slain while she worked alone at the reformatory chapel. Byron Scherf, 52, a convicted rapist serving a life term with no possibility of parole, has been charged with aggravated murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    While detectives have been building their case against Scherf, the state Department of Corrections has been gearing up to investigate how an inmate could have attacked and killed a lone officer without attracting anyone's attention.

    Monroe police have conducted at least 160 interviews since Biendl's death, spokeswoman Debbie Willis said. Corrections officers, inmates and visitors were questioned about Jan. 29 and events leading up to the killing.

    Corrections officers were asked about where they were, what they saw and heard. Detectives continue to review those interviews and in some instances are following up with additional questions, Willis said.

    A copy of the criminal investigation is expected to be shared with the corrections officials, who will be focusing on whether prison rules were followed.

    "That was not our standpoint," Willis said.

    Willis said that from the beginning of the case, there has been a lot of information coming from different sources. Not all of it has been accurate, she said, and everything may not get sorted out until the corrections department's internal investigation is complete, she said.

    Any time there is a public safety tragedy, whether it involves law enforcement or firefighters, there's second-guessing, Willis said.

    "You're always going to see people looking at policies and procedures and if they were followed," she said.

    On Monday, state prison officials heard from federal corrections experts who studied the reformatory's policies and protocols and found them lacking in key areas.

    An internal investigation is supposed to begin next week. It will focus on exactly what happened behind the walls the night Biendl was killed, corrections spokesman Chad Lewis said.

    He would not comment on what the officer told The Herald. He also declined to provide details that could have helped confirm the officer's story, including where staff was in the prison that night and what policies and procedures were in place to govern their movement.

    That sort of information will be the focus of the corrections department's investigation, and by the time the probe is complete, officials should have a detailed, accurate understanding of whether the rules were followed, and if they were adequate, he said.

    "It is not looking for blame. It is looking for a systemic issue, an execution issue," Lewis said.

    Biendl's death marks the first killing of a corrections officer in a Washington prison since the late 1970s, and the first in the 101-year history of the reformatory. While this internal investigation carries special urgency, probes of this type are routine for the department, and a tool that in the past has been used to make the prison environment safer for officers, staff and inmates, Lewis said.

    "The issues raised here will be addressed in the internal review," Lewis said. " ... We will carefully study every aspect of the incident to determine if there are any improvements we can make. In the meantime, we will follow the recommendations made by (federal corrections experts) to help make sure the men and women who work in prisons are as safe as possible."

    Shortly after Biendl's death, Gov. Chris Gregoire called for the independent review by a team from the National Institute of Corrections. Their report includes 15 recommendations.

    Some of those focus on providing corrections officers with more tools to improve personal safety in an inherently dangerous environment. The team also recommended giving officers body alarms, pepper spray, more security cameras and additional safety training.

    Other recommendations were geared toward making safety and vigilance a greater priority among corrections officers. More restrictive policies also were suggested for times when inmates are outside their cells and moving around the prison.

    The team called for more frequent counts of inmates as they move to and from posts manned by a single officer, such as the chapel. There were detailed suggestions for more efficient and secure options for counting inmates, and for moving them between areas of the prison.

    Requiring inmates to only be moved in closely supervised groups may require different staffing, but it likely would increase safety because many convicts won't stand by and watch staff be attacked, the team said.

    "The predatory inmate plans for opportunities to get a staff member alone in an isolated area. ''Preempting this opportunity is critical to the safety of officers assigned to single person posts," federal investigators wrote.

    The team also found that operating rules at the chapel where Biendl worked may not have been clear. The written procedures indicate that the supervisor should be notified when a chapel officer leaves for the night. That didn't appear to be happening "for a long time, if ever," the team wrote. The investigators also specifically reviewed Scherf's history at the prison, including his ability to become a volunteer clerk at the chapel. The team found that there is no screening process and it isn't clear to investigators how Scherf was allowed to become a volunteer in an area supervised by a single female officer.

    A 1997 report concluded that Scherf "has demonstrated that he will manipulate staff to get what he wants." A 2001 mental health report concluded that he likely would be a danger to female corrections officers.

    In the days after the killing, current and retired corrections officers and others familiar with prison operations anonymously contacted The Herald. Some questioned whether Biendl's co-workers failed to follow safety procedures they'd been taught. Some suggested staff were inadequately trained to recognize predatory inmates.

    Others pressed the message the corrections officers' union began pushing within hours of Biendl's death, blaming staffing reductions and feckless prison administrators for unsafe conditions at the state's prisons.

    Federal investigators concluded that staffing at the reformatory is not only adequate, but that violence against staff at the reformatory is well controlled and on the decline.

    The officer who talked to The Herald said many who have become the most vocal about working conditions at the reformatory simply don't know what they are talking about. They work at other prisons inside the Monroe complex, such as the Special Offender Unit and the Twin Rivers Unit.

    They also aren't haunted, as he is, by the screech that came over the prison radio system the night Biendl was killed.

    It was an unusual enough sound that he and others stopped and listened, waiting for a prison-wide alert that something was wrong. That didn't happen. It was only later that they learned the radio screech occurred about the same time Biendl was fighting for her life.

    Since her death, prison administrators have been blasted for not keeping the officer safe.

    But on the ground inside the reformatory, officers are looking at each other, questioning where their colleagues were and what they were up to when it mattered most, the officer said.

    "It's the people at the bottom who let her down," he said.

    Inquiries in the case

    There are four separate investigations into Monroe corrections officer Jayme Biendl's death. Here is where they stand as of Thursday.

    1. Criminal investigation by Monroe police: Still working the case, but much of it has been forwarded to prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty.

    2. National Institute of Corrections federal review: Complete. Report was released Monday with 15 recommendations.

    3. State Department of Corrections internal investigation: Set to begin next week. Will focus on exactly what happened at the reformatory Jan. 29.

    4. State Department of Labor and Industries: Will determine whether state workplace safety laws were violated. If labor officials find something wrong, they can issue citations and fines. Their report must be completed by early summer.

    http://heraldnet.com/article/2011032.../1061/COMM0622

  2. #22
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    Prosecutors oppose having Scherf unshackled in court

    Prosecutors say the man accused of killing a corrections officer is too dangerous to be unshackled during hearings.

    Prosecutors say the inmate accused of killing Monroe corrections officer Jayme Biendl has proven he is too dangerous to be unshackled during the court hearings.

    Byron Scherf "cannot be trusted with small freedoms; he uses them as manipulations and then patiently seizes the opportunity to commit the most egregious of acts," Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern wrote in court documents filed Friday.

    There is a legitimate concern for the safety of court staff and county corrections officers, who are being asked by defense attorneys to use less restraints on a man accused of killing someone in their very profession, Stern wrote.

    Scherf is charged with aggravated murder in the Jan. 29 killing at the Washington State Reformatory. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Scherf, 52, already is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

    Stern on Friday a filed a response to the defense's earlier motion asking that Scherf be allowed to wear street clothes and remain unshackled during all court appearances.

    Defendants generally don't wear jail uniforms or shackles during trial. The state Supreme Court overturned a death sentence in Snohomish County on the grounds that jurors saw the defendant wearing leg irons during the penalty phase of the trial.

    Defendants who aren't free on bail, however, almost always attend pretrial hearings in jail garb and restraints.

    At the request of the Scherf's attorneys, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne allowed Scherf to wear a suit and sit free of shackles or handcuffs during the March 16 arraignment.

    The defense said that was and continues to be necessary to offset what they call "poisonous" pretrial publicity. They have accused prosecutors of engaging in an unethical media blitz to prejudice the public against Scherf.

    "This pretrial narrative is fundamentally prejudicial to the accused's rights to a fair trial, to the accused's presumption of innocence, and the right of the accused to have his fate decided by an impartial jury," wrote Jon Scott, an attorney with the Snohomish County Public Defender's Association.

    Media images of Scherf in shackles and a jail uniform will continue to perpetuate this narrative, the defense said.

    Prosecutors, however, argue that judges are able to seat impartial jurors in cases that receive media attention for years.

    The risks to corrections officers, to courtroom staff and to the defendant all outweigh a vague fear that some juror might be prejudiced by seeing Scherf in shackles. He's already serving a life sentence and now facing the death penalty for allegedly killing a corrections officer, Stern wrote.

    Wynne is expected to hear arguments on the motion later next month.

    http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201...WS01/703269943

  3. #23
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    Prison guard slaying suspect warned of danger

    The prison inmate charged with murdering a corrections officer had warned staffers that he was dangerous and unable to control his behavior.

    Convicted rapist Byron Scherf spent a lot of his time at the Monroe prison writing letters to state officials. He mostly complained about his treatment and demanded more privileges.

    But The Everett Herald reports the 52-year-old often reminded people that his behavior is unpredictable, and on at least one occasion wrote that someone could get hurt if he didn't get what he wanted. He wrote he didn't plan to hurt anyone, but that it was possible.

    Scherf also repeatedly asked for sex-offender treatment and said he couldn't control his compulsions. The corrections department refused the treatment that's reserved for inmates expected to be released.

    Scherf could face the death penalty if he's convicted of killing 34-year-old Jayme Biendl.

    Scherf is accused of killing Biendl in a chapel at the Monroe Correctional Complex in January.

    http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=11&sid=459364

  4. #24
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    Trial for murder of corrections officer set for July 29

    It's been just a month since prosecutors announced plans to seek the death penalty for a prisoner accused of strangling Monroe corrections officer Jayme Biendl in the chapel at the Washington State Reformatory.

    Lawyers spent an hour at a hearing Monday arguing over how the case has been handled so far and how it should move forward -- more evidence that there won't be a quick resolution in the county's first capital punishment case in nearly a decade.

    The aggravated murder trial for Byron Scherf was moved to July 29. There already are 9,000 pages of discovery and more is likely to come, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern said. Defense attorneys agreed to the July trial date but told Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne they likely will need more time to prepare.

    Scherf's attorneys had requested Monday's hearing. Soon after their client was charged with aggravated murder they requested the judge remove from the court record a six-page probable cause affidavit that prosecutors filed with the murder charge. They argued that the affidavit was unnecessary, prejudicial and nothing more than a press release disguised as a court filing intended to poison the jury pool and heighten the public's condemnation of their client.

    The attorneys also requested in their motion that Scherf be allowed to attend all court hearings dressed in street clothes and without shackles and handcuffs. They said those measures were necessary to offset all the negative publicity.

    Defense attorney Jon Scott argued Monday that the shackles prevent Scherf from being able to write notes or questions during the court proceedings.

    Defendants typically wear leg restraints and handcuffs. The cuffs are generally locked to a chain around their waist. Their hands are limited from moving more than a few inches from their waist. Scherf has been shackled at court hearings. Court security, however, doesn't allow the public in the courtroom until Scherf is seated and he isn't led back to jail until the courtroom is empty of spectators. It's unclear what kind of restraints he wears.

    Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern argued that Scherf presents a real danger. He is already serving a life sentence without chance of release and is facing a potential death sentence.

    "He has nothing to lose" if he commits more violence, Stern said.

    Wynne agreed Monday that Scherf can wear street clothes but he declined to order jail staff to unshackle Scherf during any pre-trial hearings. The judge said he must consider potential safety concerns for staff, Scherf and the public.

    "The risk is too great," he said.

    Wynne also declined to completely remove the original probable cause affidavit from the court record. Instead, he said, that document will be sealed and in its place will be a revised version. The majority of the original is unchanged; however, specific details about Scherf's past crimes were removed. The judge also removed two sentences about Biendl, including when she was born.

    Wynne said the portions he removed were prejudicial, and not necessary to determine if there was probable cause to hold Scherf on the murder charge. He also said that some of the information wouldn't be admissible at trial.

    The judge noted that the information, primarily the details of Scherf's criminal convictions, is available in other public documents.

    http://heraldnet.com/article/2011041...tionCat=NEWS01

  5. #25
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    Judge says public should see Scherf letter; defense appeals

    The public has a right to see a letter that murder suspect Byron Scherf sent prosecutors earlier this month, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge ruled Friday.

    The correspondence, however, won't be released while Scherf's defense attorneys appeal Friday's decision.

    Scherf, 52, is accused of killing Monroe corrections officer Jayme Biendl on Jan. 29 at the Washington State Reformatory. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    The criminal case against Scherf took a back seat Friday to a debate over what the public should be allowed to know. Attorneys argued over whether Scherf's correspondence to prosecutors is a public record and subject to disclosure.

    Scherf sent a letter from jail indicating that he wanted to represent himself in his murder trial. The correspondence, postmarked May 4, indicated that Scherf filed a motion with the county's Superior Court Clerk's Office and he wanted to be heard on the issue at his next court appearance.

    The Herald and a Seattle television station requested a copy of the document after prosecutors notified Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne at that hearing that they wished to address the contents of a letter they received from the defendant.

    Wynne declined to take up the matter then, saying no motion from Scherf had been filed in the court record.

    The judge and prosecutors later learned that court clerks had received mail from Scherf containing a motion to represent himself. They didn't put the letter or the motion in the court file, however, at the request of Scherf's defense attorney, Karen Halverson. Her legal assistant retrieved the unopened letter.

    Prosecutors on Friday requested that Wynne ask Scherf whether he wanted to represent himself. They said it was necessary to clear up any question about whether Scherf wanted to file the motion he sent to the clerk's office.

    Defense attorneys Friday gave Wynne a document signed by Scherf indicating that he wasn't asking for the court to consider a motion. Wynne asked Scherf if the document was accurate.

    "I'm being represented by counsel, your honor," Scherf said.

    Halverson quickly objected, saying that her client shouldn't have been forced to address the court. She said it was more evidence of prosecutors trying to insert themselves into the relationship between Scherf and his attorneys.

    Wynne last week had barred the release of Scherf's letter until the defense could be heard on the matter at Friday's hearing.

    Defense attorney Jon Scott argued that prosecutors were unethical when they opened the letter. It was only through their misdeeds that the correspondence become subject to scrutiny under public records laws, he said.

    "Their unethical handling of the document is why there is a hearing today," Scott said.

    Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler denied that his office did anything wrong. Prosecutors didn't ask Scherf to send them the letter. The correspondence was addressed to the prosecutors and the envelope indicated that Scherf was representing himself. The correspondence also indicated that a motion had been filed with the court, Stemler said.

    Prosecutors have never been accused of unethical behavior because they open mail addressed to them, he added.

    Scherf is an intelligent man who is familiar with the court system, Stemler said. Prosecutors had no reason to doubt that he filed the motion, and ignoring the matter could have been a serious error in a death penalty case, he added.

    Civil deputy prosecutor Lyndsey Down added that Scherf's attorneys failed to show that the document was privileged or fell under some other exemption that would prevent its release under state public record laws.

    The letter was received by a public agency and is related to how the county's lawyers are prosecuting a death penalty case, said Eric Stahl, an attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine, representing The Herald. That makes it a public document, he said.

    Wynne agreed.

    The judge said he didn't find an ethical violation by prosecutors. But even if there was a violation that doesn't have bearing on whether the document should be released as a public record, Wynne said.

    http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201...WS01/705289919

  6. #26
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    Scherf letter to court shows earlier split with his attorneys on death penalty, his representation

    The man accused of strangling a Monroe corrections officer wrote last month that one of his lawyers engaged in a “renegade action” against his wishes when he filed a motion seeking to have the death penalty removed as an option in his case.

    Inmate Byron Scherf, in a May 3 motion that was sent to Snohomish County Superior Court but never filed, asked the court's permission to represent himself in the case.

    The Herald obtained the documents late Tuesday after a brief public records showdown that went all the way to the state Supreme Court.

    Scherf's defense attorneys, Karen Halverson and Jon Scott, had argued that the motion and a cover letter Scherf sent to county prosecutors should not be considered public records. Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne ruled against them on Friday. Supreme Court Commissioner Steven Goff on Tuesday declined to stay the judge's ruling.

    The documents released Tuesday show Scherf was unhappy over his attorneys' decision to question how prosecutors had provided notice that they intended to seek death for Scherf. The repeat rapist and lifer inmate allegedly has admitted strangling corrections officer Jayme Biendl while she worked her post Jan. 29 at the chapel in the Washington State Reformatory.

    "The defense counsel, in this case, has taken it upon themselves to pursue their own agenda and against my expressed wishes," Scherf wrote. "(I specifically told them I did not want the death penalty removed as an option in this case!) .... They do so, not representing me, but themselves."

    In the unfiled motion, Scherf asked the court to consider appointing Halverson to be his "stand by" counsel, assisting as he represented himself.

    He asked that his other court-appointed attorney, Jon Scott, be removed from the case.

    "I did not want to have to take this drastic step given the gravity of the charge and the potential consequences, but Jon Scott -- by taking this renegade action -- has directly and willfully went against my expressed wishes! and has denied me effective representation," Scherf wrote.

    Scherf apparently has since mended fences with his lawyers, or had a change of heart.

    On Friday, his attorneys gave Wynne a document indicating Scherf was no longer asking for a hearing about his legal representation. Wynne asked Scherf if the document was accurate.

    "I'm being represented by counsel, your honor," Scherf said.

    Halverson quickly objected, saying her client shouldn't have had to address the court.

    Prosecutors said they worried that ignoring questions about Scherf's legal representation could lead to legal complications and possibly undermine any verdict in the case.

    They also objected to the defense challenging their right to open their mail.

    Scott argued that prosecutors behaved unethically when they opened the letter sent by Scherf. He contended that it was only through their improper action that Scherf's letter became the subject of a public records request.

    Wynne on Friday said there was no evidence that prosecutors were unethical. But even if they were, the judge said, that wasn't a sufficient reason to withhold Scherf's correspondence from the public.

    From his cell at the county jail, Scherf apparently sent out at least two sets of his letter and motion.

    One went to the prosecutor's office, the other to the superior court clerks.

    Before the court clerks received the letter, however, Halverson called to request that it not be included in the court file. She said Scherf had given her permission to intercept the correspondence. She and Scott told the court they were unaware that Scherf had mailed the correspondence to prosecutors until they received an email from prosecutors May 9.

    Prosecutors attempted to address the letter in court that same day. Wynne refused, saying nothing was on file in the court record.

    The Herald filed a public records request after the May 9 hearing. Scherf's lawyers sought a court order barring release of the document. Wynne on Friday allowed the newspaper's attorney to argue for public access. The judge sided with the newspaper's argument that state records law contained no legal exemption that would permit prosecutors to keep the correspondence secret.

    http://heraldnet.com/article/2011053...9872/-1/news01

  7. #27
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    pdf format Sherf letter

  8. #28
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    Death again stuns Monroe prison

    A corrections officer who worked at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe was found dead in his car Sunday at a sea plane base at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in Oak Harbor, officials said.

    The Island County Coroner's office said the man, 49, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

    His death came as a shock to co-workers, Monroe Correctional Complex Superintendent Scott Frakes said.

    Fellow officers said the man seemed fine during his Friday and Saturday shifts, Frakes said.

    "There were no outward signs that he was troubled," he said. "It's not one of those situations where people saw signals."

    The officer was known for his positive outlook in the workplace.

    Frakes spent time with the man's widow and family members Monday. A memorial service will be planned at the prison. No date has been set.

    The officer worked for the state Department of Corrections since 2002. He had retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 22 years of service.

    "He was a good officer, and he was very well respected," corrections department spokeswoman Belinda Stewart said.

    Frakes said it is hard to know what caused the officer to take his own life. The death came four months since his co-worker, corrections officer Jayme Biendl, was strangled while working at the reformatory chapel.

    "He was friends with Jayme," Frakes said. "There is no doubt that weighed heavily on him."

    Biendl, 34, was found in the reformatory sanctuary Jan. 29 with an amplifier cord wrapped around her neck several times. Convicted rapist Byron Scherf, who already is serving a life sentence, is accused of killing Biendl on Jan. 29. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    The officer who died this week was a past member of the prison's honor guard. He previously worked in the prison kitchen and recently moved to the recreation center.

    His death has been hard on the staff, but people are pulling together and taking care of each other, Frakes said.

    "There are so many unanswered questions," Frakes said. "People want to know. They want to make sense of things."

    http://www.heraldnet.com/article/201...WS01/706019839

  9. #29
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    Police reports detail events on night of prison officer's slaying

    More than 1,600 pages of police reports released in the case of accused killer Byron Scherf

    MONROE -- Accused killer Byron Scherf was cool and tried to clean his fingernails in the minutes after he allegedly strangled Monroe corrections officer Jayme Biendl in the prison chapel.

    Scherf was found seated outside the sanctuary on Jan. 29, after he failed to show up for a cell count at the Washington State Reformatory where he was serving a life sentence for multiple rapes.

    As corrections officers approached him that night, Scherf rose to his feet and called Biendl's name, as if he was uncertain who was there, witnesses later told detectives. Scherf then claimed he must have fallen asleep, and that Biendl had simply missed him while clearing the chapel.

    "You think I'm in trouble?" he asked one of the officers as they escorted him away in handcuffs.

    Scherf, 52, is now charged with aggravated murder and possibly facing the death penalty. Snohomish County prosecutors say he's admitted killing Biendl.

    Late Tuesday, under a public records request, they released more than 1,600 pages of police reports on the case. The documents provide the most detailed account so far of what happened at the prison that night and what detectives have since learned about Scherf's behavior behind bars.

    The documents focus mainly on the hours immediately after Biendl was found with a cord wrapped around her neck on the stage in the prison chapel. They are silent about any suspicion regarding how Scherf allegedly gamed the prison system to get Biendl alone.

    More than an hour passed between the time Scherf was found and when prison workers went looking for Biendl.

    The police reports detail the frantic efforts that her co-workers made to revive her.

    Corrections officers initially didn't see the amplifier cord wrapped tightly around Biendl's neck. Her long hair was covering her face. One corrections officer remembered calling out her name.

    "Sweetie, it will be alright. Just wake up," the man later recalled for detectives.

    One inmate who was in the chapel that evening told detectives that Biendl seemed troubled by a serious conversation she had during a personal phone call a few minutes before her shift ended. Detectives later learned the call was about a friend's horse.

    Scherf reportedly was hovering nearby while Biendl was on the phone. He asked her to accompany him down a hall to speak privately for a few minutes. She did, returned to the others and began sending inmates back to their cells, preparing to lock up for the night.

    Scherf left the chapel with other inmates then headed back, claiming he'd left his hat.

    The reports detail Scherf's behavior that day, including his straying from his normal routine. He apparently cut short a visit with his wife after they argued. He didn't show up to take his medication. He skipped a meal. His cell was reportedly found unusually tidy.

    An inmate who regularly attended chapel recalled telling Scherf that he'd see him the following week.

    "I don't think so," the inmate said Scherf told him.

    On the other hand, Scherf's jogging partner, convicted wife-killer Randy Roth, said Scherf asked him earlier in the day if he was going to be out running on the prison track the next day. Scherf said he'd see him out there.

    One inmate told detectives Scherf had a grudge against Biendl for the cancellation of a prison program that made extra food available behind bars. Another told detectives that Scherf had called Biendl "an evil slut," and bragged about getting to spend some time alone with her.

    Investigators spoke with other women at the prison who interacted with Scherf. A chaplain reported that she was concerned Scherf had been trying to manipulate her and confronted him. She said she spoke with Biendl about her concerns.

    Two chaplains also told investigators that they believe Scherf was behind an anonymous note sent to Biendl about a year ago. The note claimed another inmate was planning to sexually assault Biendl. The inmate was removed from his position as a clerk in the chapel.

    The man later told a chaplain after he was fired that Scherf walked by and whispered, "I gotcha, didn't I?"

    The documents offered other glimpses into the investigation:

    • After being placed in handcuffs outside the chapel, Scherf reportedly "was calm and even smiled and laughed."

    • For a time, Scherf told prison officials he was planning to escape. He then began asking for a lawyer. Prison staff thought that was strange. At that point they didn't know Biendl was dead.

    • Scherf was detained in a cell with no water so he couldn't wash himself. Prison officials said he repeatedly picked at his fingernails and chewed on them. One corrections lieutenant told police that Scherf appeared to be licking or sucking on his fingers.

    • A night shift lieutenant described how Scherf's account changed after he was confronted about the blood on his clothing. He initially told officers that he was hit by a handball. He later said he was assaulted by a group of Mexican inmates, and that he wasn't "on the losing end."

    More Scherf records could be released in the coming weeks.

    His attorneys earlier this month asked the judge to block prosecutors from releasing about 325 pages of documents. Many of the records focus on statements Scherf reportedly gave to police after he allegedly killed Biendl at her post in the prison chapel.

    A hearing is scheduled next week for Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne to decide whether those records should be made public.

    The corrections department is conducting a separate internal investigation that hasn't been completed. A third investigation by the state Department of Labor and Industries is due out at the end of July.

    http://heraldnet.com/article/2011062.../1040/COMM0603

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    Inmates had filed grievances against slain guard

    SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — An inmate was preparing music for a Christian service in the prison chapel. Problem was, a small cabinet there was marked "Wicca" and displayed a pentagram — a symbol of that pagan religion — on its door.

    Corrections officer Jayme Biendl agreed to cover the cabinet with a blanket and turn it toward a wall, but the 2008 incident nevertheless earned her a grievance from the prisoner, Anthony Snow, who said she should be "re-educated in the sensitivity of the area she oversees." The presence of a Wiccan symbol, even one covered by a blanket, could offend both Christians and Wiccans, he said.

    The grievance was one of about 15 filed against Biendl in the years before she was strangled to death in January at the chapel of the state reformatory in Monroe, according to documents released to The Associated Press under a public disclosure request. The grievances were universally determined to be unfounded, but they help shed light on the pressures of working inside the walls of the state's prisons, even in a place as relatively serene as the chapel.

    "Any place you work in a prison is an incredibly stressful, dangerous work environment, whether you work in the chapel or the kitchen or walking the tiers," said Paul Zilly, spokesman for Teamsters Local 117, which represents corrections officers.

    Biendl, 34, had been a corrections officer since 2002, and she was widely considered to be good at her job — she had even been named the prison's officer of the year in 2008. She was working alone the evening of Jan. 29, when she was strangled during a struggle in the chapel. Inmate Byron Scherf, 52, who never filed a grievance against her, has been charged with aggravated murder in the case.

    Scherf, serving a life sentence for rape, has pleaded not guilty in Snohomish County Superior Court and could face the death penalty if convicted.

    Biendl had complained to superiors about the practice of working shifts alone, but single-officer posts are common in prison systems. Prison officials said just one guard had worked in the chapel for the past 15 years, with few problems.

    In court papers, detectives say Scherf has confessed to killing Biendl because he was angry at how she had spoken with him. The grievances obtained by the AP show that several inmates had been angry with her as well, with some claiming she was rude in dealing with prisoners' concerns.

    Among them were inmate Clarence Johnson, who claimed in July 2005 that he and Biendl argued over his desire to attend a Muslim prayer service, and then remain in the chapel for another hour for religious instruction. Biendl said he couldn't do both.

    "Biendl then snapped, approached me in a hostile manner and began yelling at me to not argue with her," Johnson wrote. "I would like for C/O Biendl to be removed from the chapel to prevent her from further harassing me and threatening me!"

    He later withdrew the grievance.

    Snow also filed a grievance against Biendl in August 2005 over a dispute involving a rule that inmates confined to their cells for infractions were allowed only one religious service per week in the chapel. The dispute involved how to measure the week.

    In 2007, grievances against Biendl were filed by several inmates over a practice of limiting Muslim prayer services to one hour unless there was a Muslim sponsor to provide an additional hour of instruction.

    Inmate Calvin Washington said he believed Biendl was prejudiced against Muslim services. Another demanded she lose two weeks of pay. Investigators found that Biendl was following the rules and that she should be commended for being fair and consistent.

    On Dec. 31, 2010, inmate Joseph McDaniels contended that Biendl turned him away from a prayer service because he was not on the attendance roster.

    "I would like to further note in this grievance that this is the second time within the last 6 months that C/O Biendl has denied my religious service," McDaniels wrote. The department investigated and found that McDaniels' name was not on the roster because of a lack of recent attendance.

    After Snow's complaint about the cabinet marked "Wicca," the Corrections Department found that Biendl properly handled the situation. The agency crafted new procedures on dealing with religious symbols in the chapel.

    http://www.seattlepi.com/news/articl...rd-1453030.php

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