Ex-N.Y. Judge Stabbed in Prison

Sol Wachtler, the state’s former chief judge, was stabbed in his bed at a prison in North Carolina, where he is serving a 10-month sentence for harassing his former lover, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Wachtler, 63, was in bed Sunday night listening to his radio with earphones when he was attacked, said his lawyer, Paul Montclare, who is also his son-in-law.

Prison officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Montclare said someone came into Wachtler’s room, tried to put a pillow over his face, shoved him over and stabbed him above his right shoulder blade twice.

Wachtler, who was being held in his own room in the prison’s hospital unit while he undergoes psychiatric evaluation, was moved to a locked cell, Montclare said.

When the attacker fled, Wachtler hobbled into the hallway and called for guards, who weren’t able to determine who attacked him, Montclare said. Wachtler received stitches for the stab wounds.

“Sol Wachtler is very shaken by this attack, and he is unnerved by the whole incident,” Montclare said.