GDOC: Georgia correctional officer is slain by inmate

A Georgia correctional officer died Sunday after being attacked by a prisoner at Smith State Prison in Glennville, a troubled state prison with a history of violence and corruption.

Correctional Officer Robert Clark, 42, was escorting two prisoners from the dining hall when Layton Lester assaulted him from behind with a homemade weapon, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. The other prisoner being escorted, Marko Willingham, tried to assist the correctional officer and also was attacked by Lester, the GDOC said in a press release.

Clark died from his injuries after being transported to the hospital. Willingham was hospitalized with injuries that are not life-threatening, GDOC said.

“The entire GDC team is mourning the loss of one of our own and we collectively express our deepest condolences to Officer Clark’s family and friends,” said Georgia Department of Corrections Commissioner Tyrone Oliver, in a news release. “We will support them as they navigate this tragedy over the coming days, weeks and months.”

Clark started GDOC training in April and began working as a correctional officer at Smith on May 15, according to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. He had no prior law enforcement employment in Georgia, POST’s website says.

Lester was convicted of a 2007 murder in Tift County and is serving a life sentence, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections website.

Smith State Prison is chronically understaffed and has been embroiled in corruption and violence for years. This year has been especially turbulent. Smith has had more homicides in 2023 than any other prison in Georgia’s system, with six inmates slain between March and August, according to an AJC review of GDC mortality reports and state death records.