At the hearing, Livingston said the state had allowed the prison to lapse into "anarchy," creating an environment where corruption flourished and where no one was safe. She said those conditions led to McGuinn's death on July 25, 2006.
"It fueled the violence and is relevant because that is the environment in which Mr. Harris had to survive," Livingston said.
A witness told state police that corrupt guards involved in contraband smuggling "ordered the hit" on McGuinn, according to a legal motion filed by defense lawyers for Harris. The motion does not identify the witness or say whether the person was an inmate, corrections officer or someone else.
The hearing also focused on a defense motion seeking all records related to a homemade knife that is considered to be potential evidence in McGuinn's killing.
The shank was initially found in a rear catwalk area near where McGuinn was killed, according to documents obtained by The Sun. But it was accidentally knocked off the tier by a crime scene investigator and was missing. It turned up two days later, tagged as having been found on an inmate during a strip search.
In internal reports, police and corrections investigators said it appeared the knife had been planted on an inmate to cover for the beating of an inmate by guards the afternoon of McGuinn's death.
The stabbing of McGuinn - who was the second correctional officer to be killed in 2006 - sent shock waves through the prison system and was a factor in the decision to shut the outdated Jessup facility. It closed last March.
greg.garland@baltsun.com
