Prisoner attacked himself, Monroe officials say

Herald staff

MONROE — A prison stabbing at the Washington State Reformatory has taken an unusual twist: The victim attacked himself, according to prison officials.

"We didn’t have a stabbing; what we had was a self-mutilation," said Les Ryder, superintendent of the Monroe Correctional Complex, which includes the high-security reformatory.

The inmate, convicted murderer John L. Forrester, earlier told prison officials he was sliced by a fellow inmate wielding a makeshift weapon tipped with a razor blade, according to prison officials.

But the accused inmate passed a lie detector test, and shortly before Forrester was scheduled to take a similar test, he again mutilated himself, Ryder said.

"He obviously wanted to avoid taking that test, and he obviously has a propensity for that kind of behavior," Ryder said.

Forrester then admitted to injuring himself, hoping he could sue the prison for housing him with the man he accused of attacking him, Ryder said. The two had been at odds at another prison, Ryder said.

Forrester, who is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for an aggravated murder conviction out of Spokane County, is now being held in segregation unit, where inmates are kept under closer watch, the superintendent said.