Inmate accused in fatal attack on fellow prisoner

MONROE, Wash. (AP) — A 35-year-old inmate at the Washington state prison in Monroe is accused of hitting, kicking and stomping a fellow prisoner who suffered head injuries and later died in an Everett hospital.

The Daily Herald of Everett reports the inmate, Benjamin C. Price, is already serving time for manslaughter and has a history of violent assaults. He's held in the Special Offenders Unit at the Monroe Correctional Complex.

In the May 9 attack, witnesses told detectives that 45-year-old inmate Gordon Powell was punched as inmates returned from the dining area, then beaten while he was on the ground. The newspaper says he never regained consciousness and died Monday.

Price is being held in segregation while law enforcement officers and prison staff investigate.