A Georgia prisoner was fatally shot in a hospital after he attacked a prison guard and advanced on another on Tuesday evening, according to official reports. The inmate, identified as Jacob Henson, was receiving medical attention following a stabbing incident during a fight at Washington State Prison earlier that day.
Henson, 31, was in a confrontation with a state corrections officer who was escorting him to the hospital, as per the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. In the ensuing struggle, Henson managed to overpower the officer and seize his pepper spray canister. He then discharged the spray, incapacitating the officer.
Henson continued his assault, confronting a second corrections officer while still wielding the pepper spray. The second officer responded by shooting Henson, the GBI reported. Henson was declared dead at the scene.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:45 p.m. while Henson was being treated for injuries sustained during an earlier altercation inside Washington State Prison. The GBI is currently investigating both the use of deadly force by the corrections officer and the initial stabbing incident within the prison.
Upon completion of the investigation, the findings will be submitted to the Middle Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office for review, the GBI stated.
Henson was serving an eight-year sentence on 25 criminal charges, according to previous statements from the Cherokee County District Attorney’s Office. Following his prison term, he was slated to serve an additional 12 years of probation. Henson’s criminal record included a series of vehicle thefts and other crimes committed during the summer of 2018, leading to his arrest and subsequent guilty plea.