ISHMAEL PETTY | Infamous Supermax Prison, Known as the World's Most Secure, Is Rocked by a Murder Mystery as an Inmate Is Killed | Government Seeks the Death Penalty for a Federal Inmate Charged With First-Degree Murder | ALS

Ishmael Petty. Autographed Letter, Signed. Handwritten, Commercial #10 (4.125 × 9.5 envelope). Denver, CO. May 7, 2025. Content unknown. SEALED.

Ishmael Petty is a federal inmate who has been charged with first-degree murder and murder by a federal prisoner serving a life sentence in connection with the death of a fellow inmate at the U.S. Penitentiary-Florence, Administrative Maximum Facility (ADX) in Florence, Colorado, on September 19, 2020. The United States Department of Justice has announced its intent to seek the death penalty against Petty for these charges. Attorney General Pam Bondi authorized the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado to pursue capital punishment in this case, and a notice of intent to seek the death penalty has been filed. The maximum penalty for the current charges is death.

Petty, who was 56 years old at the time of the reports, has a history of violent crime and has been in federal custody since a 1998 conviction for bank robbery. According to the United States Department of Justice, this initial conviction stemmed from an elaborate armed bank robbery in Mississippi where he wore a police officer’s uniform and made off with $200,000.

Following his incarceration for the bank robbery, Petty faced accusations of murdering a fellow inmate. In 2002, he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering an inmate at another federal prison. In 2002, the Department of Justice ordered him to serve a life sentence for killing an elderly cellmate while incarcerated in Pollock, Louisiana. The victim of this first murder was reportedly 71 years old.

Petty was subsequently transferred to ADX Florence, also known as Supermax, the highest-security federal prison in the U.S. While serving his life sentence there, he was involved in another violent incident. In 2015, Petty was sentenced to 60 years in prison for an assault on two federal officers at ADX that occurred in 2013. Prosecutors stated he was convicted in 2015 of attacking two prison librarians and a case manager who were delivering books to his cell. The attack occurred on September 11, 2013, involving three Federal Bureau of Prisons employees: librarians Ralph Smith and Brianne Smith and case manager Deedee Mcevoy. Petty was found guilty of three counts each of assault and resisting and impeding a federal employee following a trial. During the attack, Petty reportedly hid behind his cell door wearing homemade body armor fashioned out of cardboard-like material and attacked the federal employees with a shank, or homemade knife, which he made by rubbing a toothbrush against the concrete wall to sharpen the end. He also flung hot sauce into the eyes of one of the librarians. He wrestled batons away from the prison employees and began pummeling Ralph Smith. At his sentencing for this assault, Petty asked the federal judge for the maximum sentence of 60 years, stating, “I deserve another life sentence” and “I was undercharged.” He gave an explanation of his motive, claiming that when Brianne Smith stuck out her arm to block the baton when he was swinging at Ralph Smith’s head, it reminded him of a girl trying to save her father, and that this action was what got him "out of that zone." Federal prosecutor Colleen Covell explained that the U.S. Attorney’s office had initially declined to prosecute Petty for the assault because he was already serving a life sentence, but prison officials convinced prosecutors to proceed, emphasizing that inmates need to know there are consequences for their actions. Deedee Mcevoy, the case manager who assisted the librarians, received commendation for her bravery. While initially sentenced to 36 years for the assault, justice officials later stated he was serving all 60 years.

The current charges against Petty stem from the alleged murder of a fellow inmate, identified as LaMarcus Hillard, who was 40 years old. Court documents indicate that on September 19, 2020, Petty murdered a fellow inmate while the two were housed in the same unit at ADX Florence. Some case documents identified the victim by the initials "L.H." News of this alleged murder emerged after the Department of Justice announced it was seeking the death penalty for Petty. It remains a mystery how Petty allegedly managed to kill Hillard in a facility where inmates spend 23 hours a day in a cell. According to part of the autopsy report, Hillard died "as a result of ligature strangulation" in his cell while Petty was outside. The ligature was "fashioned out of twisted bedsheets." An inmate in an adjacent room found Hillard "bound at the hands and feet with plastic sheeting over his head while strangling him." The ligature was reportedly fed through a food slot. LaMarcus Hillard had been jailed for 20 years in January 2003 for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute and for an additional 20 years in February 2008 for manslaughter. He was moved to ADX Florence on December 4, 2007.

The decision by the Justice Department to seek the death penalty for Petty is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to revive federal capital punishment. Attorney General Pam Bondi, on her first day in office, lifted a Biden-era moratorium on federal executions and has stated she will seek the death penalty "whenever possible." The Trump administration carried out 13 federal executions during its first term. Trump signed an order on his first day back in the White House compelling the Justice Department to seek the death penalty in appropriate federal cases and help preserve capital punishment in states. Federal executions were halted under the Biden administration after Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered a review of capital punishment protocols. In his final weeks in office, President Joe Biden converted to life in prison the sentences for 37 of the 40 federal death row inmates.

The current case against Petty is being prosecuted by the Violent Crime and Immigration Enforcement Section of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section. The FBI Denver Field Office investigated the case. A federal grand jury in Denver indicted Petty on two murder counts. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Petty is scheduled for an arraignment, which has yet to be scheduled, and prosecutors have filed a motion for him to join the proceedings via video teleconference.

ADX Florence, where the alleged 2020 murder occurred, is widely regarded as the world's most secure prison. It is located across nearly 50 acres in Fremont County, Colorado, close to the community of Florence, a little more than 100 miles south of Denver. The facility houses little over 300 of the most dangerous prisoners in the US. Inmates are housed behind soundproof doors with small windows. They spend 23 hours a day in their 7ft-by-12ft reinforced concrete cells that are completely soundproof and designed to limit opportunities for self-harm. Cells have no windows, only small skylights. Inmates are allowed out for one hour of solo exercise per day in a small cage surrounded by high walls covered in barbed wire and gun towers while wearing leg-irons, handcuffs, and belly chains. Cells are furnished with concrete furniture and a combination sink and toilet. Meals are slid through holes in the steel doors. Inmates have showers in their cells and are afforded one 15-minute call a month to relatives, with letters limited in length. Visitors must be approved by the office of the US Attorney General. The facility is surrounded by 12-foot razor-wire fencing and its 1,400 steel doors, motion detectors, and cameras are all remote-controlled. There have been no known successful escapes from ADX Florence since it opened in 1994. Only two inmates, including LaMarcus Hillard, have ever been murdered inside ADX Florence.

Additional Note

Given Petty's notoriety and the rarity of his case, any autographed items associated with him could be considered valuable collectibles due to their uniqueness and the public's interest in true crime memorabilia.

• VIDEO: DOJ: U.S. Attorney seeks death penalty for federal inmate in Colorado murder case | https://youtu.be/L0g-HbS56aM

• VIDEO: Death penalty sought for Colorado prisoner who allegedly had a pattern of killing other inmates | https://youtu.be/GUiJn3sqLIs

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