The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
45°F
Current Conditions
Scattered clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Inmates Sent To Tennessee Include Killers, Long-Termers Montana Has Contract To Send Hundreds To Privately Run Prisons

Bob Anez Associated Press

Almost half of the Montana inmates shipped to a private prison in Tennessee last week are murderers, including ones convicted of murdering the parents of a TV star, wounding a Highway Patrol officer and hiding his victims in a barrel.

Eighteen of the 40 inmates are in prison for murder, and two others are serving time for attempted murder.

Fifteen of the 40 felons are ineligible for parole and two of those are serving life sentences. Twelve inmates are within a few months of being eligible for parole or have seen their eligibility dates come and go.

The average inmate has 16-1/2 years to serve before being eligible for parole. The average remaining sentence before discharge is 34 years.

Linda Moodry, spokeswoman for the prison, said inmates with long waits for parole or discharge and no medical problems or pending legal proceedings generally were chosen for the Tennessee move.

The transfer of inmates is part of the state’s effort to relieve overcrowding in the Montana prison system. The state has contracts with Corrections Corporation of America to send up to 450 inmates to its Tennessee prisons and 125 to its Arizona prison.

About 258 Montana inmates are housed at a private prison in Texas, but corrections officials plan to move them to Arizona and Tennessee within the next two months.

Among the murderers sent to Tennessee are:

Anthony Lankford, serving 220 years for killing Francis Cree Medicine and for trying to kill Highway Patrol Officer Mary Pat Murphy in April 1988. He is not eligible for parole.

Sean Wentz, serving a 190-year sentence for the 1986 shotgun murders of Terrence and Marie Duffy, parents of television star Patrick Duffy, at the tavern they owned in Boulder. He is eligible for parole in 2035.

Jeremy Woods, serving a life sentence for strangling his 19-year-old fiance, Dawn Wallace, and her 19-month-old son in Helena in 1993 and stuffing their bodies in a barrel. He is not eligible for parole.