Hunter
06/30/21
One of the two inmates charged with killing an Anamosa prison officer and registered nurse in a failed escape attempt has waived his right to a jury trial.
The Gazette reports that at a Linn County hearing Tuesday, 28-year-old Michael Dutcher filed the written waiver to let a judge decide his verdict. He and 39-year-old Thomas Woodard are accused of killing 46-year-old correctional officer Robert McFarland of Ely and 50-year old nurse Lorena Schulte of Cedar Rapids on March 23rd at the state penitentiary.
The two have both pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, and attempted murder charges.
Woodard’s trial has been moved to Linn County and set to begin September 21st. He recently asked to move trial to a different county, because Jones and Linn County share the same media outlets. The paper says Sixth Judicial District Judge Fae Hoover said she would make inquiries with other judicial districts, but most aren’t taking outside cases because of backed-up trial schedules resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.