State v. Hutchins

McKUSICK, Chief Justice.

Tried before a jury in Superior Court, Knox County, defendant Elmer Hutchins, whose legal name is John Ford, was convicted of aggravated assault under 17-A M.R.S.A. § 208 (1980 Supp.). The assault occurred on March 10, 1977, at the Maine State Prison, when prison guard Linwood Olson was struck by a brick dropped from the third floor window of the prison’s upholstery shop. The blow fractured Olson’s skull.

The State’s key witness at trial was prisoner Roy Taylor, who was in the upholstery shop before, during, and after the incident. Taylor testified that he watched…