Civil Trial Underway In Prison Bus Slaying
BALTIMORE (AP) -- A civil trial stemming from a murder aboard a state prison bus is underway in Baltimore.
The jury heard testimony from plaintiffs' witnesses Thursday.
Philip Parker Jr.'s parents allege that five correctional officers aboard the bus were negligent in failing to prevent Parker's murder by another maximum-security inmate in 2005. The 36 prisoners were traveling from Hagerstown to Baltimore.
The state contends the officers weren't negligent because they had no way of knowing Parker was in danger.
Three-time murderer Kevin Johns was convicted in 2008 of strangling Parker but found not criminally responsible due to mental illness. He killed himself in prison in 2009.
Parker, of Baltimore, was serving a 3 1/2-year sentence for attempted robbery.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
