SOLEDAD — A state prison inmate serving a life sentence was convicted last Tuesday of assault with a deadly weapon for stabbing a correctional officer at Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, according to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
Curtis Hemphill, 57, was convicted by a jury on Aug. 11.
The stabbing occurred July 4, 2023, as inmates were returning from the recreational yard in the afternoon. Hemphill lunged without warning at an on-duty correctional officer and struck him in the chest near his right armpit with a 6-inch, dagger-style weapon manufactured by inmates, according to prosecutors.
The officer suffered severe redness and bruising but was wearing a protective vest issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which helped prevent more serious injuries, the District Attorney’s Office said.
The jury also found true that Hemphill had prior convictions that qualify as strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law. His prior convictions include attempted murder, kidnapping, mayhem and assault with a firearm in Riverside County in 1998, as well as voluntary manslaughter in Monterey County in 2012.
Hemphill faces 27 years to life in prison, plus an additional 10-year consecutive sentence, on top of his current 60-years-to-life sentence.
