July 23, 1941 - Lemuel Smith

Lemuel Warren Smith (born July 23, 1941) is an American convicted serial killer who was the first convict to kill an on-duty female corrections officer. Smith was already in prison for the murders of at least five people when he murdered prison guard Donna Payant at Green Haven Correctional Facility in 1981.

The murder of a guard in a maximum security prison was considered shocking at the time and brought scrutiny upon the New York prison systems. Smith is considered one of the most dangerous living inmates in the New York prison system and is housed in 23-hour-a-day isolation from other people.

Smith has admitted his guilt in all of his cases, with the sole exception of Donna Payant's murder. He maintains that he was framed in this case and that fellow prison guards murdered her to prevent her from revealing corruption in the prison system.

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