2 other women attacked earlier at Wash. prison

MONTESANO, Wash. — Two other women were assaulted in the past six months at the Washington state prison where a female guard was strangled, adding to questions about the safety of prison workers.

Officer Jayme Biendl, 34, was killed Saturday night in a chapel at the reformatory unit for medium-security inmates at the Monroe Correctional Complex, about 30 miles northeast of Seattle.

Union officials have questioned why she was alone after complaining to supervisors about being the only guard working in the chapel without anyone checking on her. Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday called for an outside investigation focusing on whether prisons are adequately staffed.

Prison Superintendent Scott Frakes told The Daily Herald of Everett that he has to wait for the criminal investigation before he can change how Washington's largest prison is run. There are about 2,500 prisoners at the Monroe complex. Frakes said he can't even question some of his own officers to determine what went wrong.  More...    PrisonerPal.com