Charles Michael Hall


Two federal medical prison inmates convicted of murder

Two inmates of the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners have been convicted in federal court of murdering another inmate at the facility, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Wesley Paul Coonce, Jr., 34, and Charles Michael Hall, 43, were found guilty Wednesday of one count of first-degree murder, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Coonce was also found guilty of one count of murder by an inmate serving a life sentence.

Another inmate at the prison medical center, Victor Castro-Rodriguez, 51, was found dead on the floor of his cell on Jan. 26, 2010.

Castro-Rodriguez originally was convicted on an assault and resisting arrest in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida and was being held at the Springfield prison because of a mental illness.

The jury deliberated for about an hour before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. District Judge Gary A. Fenner. The trial began April 28.

The trial now enters the penalty phase in which the jury must determine the sentences for Coonce and Hall. Under federal statutes, Coonce and Hall are subject to either the death penalty or life in federal prison without parole.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney James D. Peterson of the Capital Case Section of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons.

http://www.news-leader.com/story/new...urder/8843999/