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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The killing caused a stupor that struck even the most hardened criminals.</p><p>One of the 118 inmates who roamed the Canaan federal prison unit where Jessie Con-ui murdered guard Eric Williams recalled a collective disbelief from the stunned audience of murderers, rapists and thieves, who watched the savage killing play out &#8212; and did nothing to stop it.</p><p>Williams, 34, of Nanticoke was stabbed more than 200 times inside the Wayne County prison in 2013 by Con-ui, a jury found June 7. The panel is expected to begin deliberating whether Con-ui, 40, deserves to be sentenced to death or life in prison for the killing next week.</p><p>Inmates were stunned by the ferocity of what unfolded before their eyes, a more than 10-minute attack that seemed to come out of nowhere, the former inmate said.</p><p>&#8220;When it happened, everybody was punch-drunk by what was happening, like, &#8216;oh my God, look at this (expletive) guy,&#8217;&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was one of those things where you can&#8217;t believe your eyes. You don&#8217;t want to look, but you cant take your eyes off of it.&#8221;</p><p>Now out of prison, the 45-year-old recently spoke about the murder and his dealings with Con-ui on the condition of anonymity. The Times Leader verified his incarceration at the time in question through information provided.</p><p>The ambush-style attack came just before 10 p.m. as Williams, the lone guard in the unit, prepared to lockdown the inmates for the night.</p><p>When Con-ui kicked the unsuspecting guard down a flight of stairs and pounced on top of him wielding two homemade shanks, some inmates retreated to their cells while others watched from afar, according to a recording of the attack played during trial.</p><p>None intervened.</p><p>As for why, the former inmate said he could only speak for himself.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to see anybody get hurt, but at the same time you have to think of yourself and your own self-preservation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Should I risk my life and stand in front of a guy with a (expletive) knife who is homicidal and put my own life at risk for a guard who I don&#8217;t know?&#8221;</p><p>He continued: &#8220;If I ran to help him, the feds wouldn&#8217;t have taken one minute off of my sentence.&#8221;</p><p>If it was him on the receiving end of the assault, no guards would risk their lives to help, he added.</p><p>&#8220;(The guard) would push a button on his radio and when backup came they&#8217;d yell to put down the knife,&#8221; he said. &#8220;None of them are jumping in front of that.&#8221;</p><p>The former inmate, jailed at Canaan for a non-violent crime, said there was a distinct &#8220;us vs. them&#8221; mentality in the prison.</p><p>Most of the inmates at the high-security prison, one rung below maximum security, are serving lengthy sentences for violent crimes. They are gang members, terrorists and killers, he said. Some of the guards tasked with watching them were &#8220;good guys,&#8221; he said, but others &#8220;had no business working in a correctional environment.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Most of the people there are never getting out (of prison), so you can imagine what life would be like there,&#8221; he said.</p><p>The former inmate was skeptical of Con-ui&#8217;s explanation for the murder that he was angered over a cell search. It wasn&#8217;t uncommon for cells to be tossed in prison, and someone like Con-ui who spent most of his adult life behind bars would be used to it, he said.</p><p>He believes Con-ui had other motivations. Con-ui, he said, didn&#8217;t want to return to Arizona to serve out a life sentence for a 2002 murder in Phoenix because federal prison inmates generally receive better treatment.</p><p>He was set to serve the sentence following the competition of an 11-year sentence for drug trafficking at Canaan.</p><p>&#8220;He figured he was going to do something to extend his stay, or stay forever,&#8221; the former inmate said.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_Con-ui-cmyk-24.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Con-ui </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/web1_Con-ui-cmyk-24.jpg</photo0><caption0>Con-ui </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Former Canaan inmate recounts Con-ui’s murder of prison guard