Murderer Sues Utah Prison Over Escape

A killer who claimed the Utah State Prison allowed him to escape with two other convicts is suing the prison for trauma allegedly suffered while free.

Walter J. Wood contends that his constitutional rights were violated when he “inadvertently wandered into an escape-in-progress situation.”

Wood, fellow murderer Wesley A. Tuttle and kidnaper Darrell E. Brady strolled from the prison in civilian clothes Aug. 21, 1984. Wood and Brady were captured within hours but Tuttle eluded authorities for six months.

Reluctant Escape

Wood complained in the lawsuit filed last week that his reluctant escape put him in several life-threatening situations.

“Because of extreme fear of being shot to death, I was forced to swim several irrigation canals, attempt to swim a raging Jordan River and expose myself to innumerable bites by many insects.

“At one point, I heard a volley of shotgun blasts and this completed my anxiety,” wrote Wood, acting as his own lawyer.

The lawsuit seeks $2 million in damages and “just punishment” for all “prison personnel involved in allowing inmates to escape.” He also complained that although escape charges were dismissed, prison officials continued to keep him in maximum security confinement.

Wood was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1979 slaying of a Lutheran minister and was condemned to death. The death sentence was vacated by the Utah Supreme Court.