State v. Bower

The defendant, Robert W. Bower, appeals a judgment and sentence entered upon his conviction at a jury trial of a violation of RCW 9.94.030, preventing a prison guard from performing his duties. We hold that the trial court erred by not instructing the jury that knowledge was an element of the offense and by refusing Bower's request for a lesser included offense instruction.

On July 24, 1979, Terrance L. Heminger, a guard at the Washington State Reformatory, was operating a lock box during a 10-minute period in which inmates could move freely in and out of their cells before returning to their…