Custody Officer Hiram McWilliams died as a result of injuries he suffered the previous day during an assault by an inmate at the Indiana Reformatory in Clarksville.

   In the afternoon, he was struck by an inmate four times with a six-pound hammer. He was initially taken to the infirmary before being taken to his home where he died from his injuries the following morning.

   The 20-year-old inmate was serving a sentence of one to 14 years in prison for grand larceny from Lawrence County.

   He was later found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. After the Indiana Supreme Court ordered a new trial on appeal, he was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

   Custody Officer McWilliams, from Marengo, was survived by his wife, sister, three brothers and father.

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This officer, discovered in 2008, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the Indiana Department of Correction.