State v. Watkins

Defendant, Charles Wesley Watkins, appeals his conviction for escape. We affirm.

Between the middle and end of August, 1980, at 7 a. m., defendant found a threatening note on the mattress in his cell at the South Dakota penitentiary. Because of the layout of the AC detention center where he was housed, defendant believed that the note came from a guard or the penitentiary administration. Consequently, he did not bring the note to the attention of any authorities.

On September 9, 1980, defendant swallowed a razor blade “to remove myself from my cell” because “I was in fear from the…