Inmate sentenced to death in prison guard slaying

KNKX Public Radio | By The Associated Press

Published May 15, 2013 at 10:12 AM PDT

A 54-year-old inmate has been sentenced to death for killing a Washington state corrections officer in a prison chapel two years ago.

Byron Scherf is a convicted rapist who already was serving life in prison when he attacked and strangled Officer Jayme Biendl with an amplifier cord in January 2011.

A Snohomish County Superior Court jury took about an hour to convict him of aggravated murder last Thursday, and the same jury sentenced him to death Wednesday morning. The only other possible sentence was life in prison without release.

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Jayme Biendl Byron Scherf

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