Steven D. Sandison: Inmate Kills Cellmate Because He Was A Child Molester

People who commit crimes against children are known to suffer harsh treatment from other inmates while incarcerated. Although most would probably assume a vast number of inmates are behind bars for lethal crimes that resulted in fatalities, the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ statistics show an estimated 48.7 percent of inmates (96,324 prisons) are actually behind bars for drug related crimes.

Surprisingly, victim-less crimes make 86 percent of the prison population. While all criminal offenses are condemned, inmates reportedly consider the most heinous crimes to be offenses against children. So, child molesters definitely have a hard time behind bars. Now, one is dead as a result of his actions.

On Monday, Feb. 23 former Saginaw Correctional Facility inmate Steven D. Sandison gave a shocking statement before Chief Circuit Judge Fred L. Borchard in a Saginaw County Circuit Court, reports WZZM-13. He actually admitted that he killed his cellmate, Theodore Dyer, at the Saginaw Correctional Facility on Oct. 29 of last year.

In addition to a verbal confession, Sandison also offered an explanation for the heinous crime. He claims Dyer often made attempts to justify the sexual assault of his victim. He also gave a graphic account of the series of events that led to Dyer’s death that day, reports MLive.

“The reason I killed him was because he was a child molester,” Sandison said.

“If it’s all right, I can tell you where it started,” he said. “That night he was trying to justify why he did it, and I told him to keep quiet and that he’d have to leave in the morning, find a new cell. But he continued to talk about it, try to justify it. So, he was a little bit bigger than me, so I got down, and I hit him in his face a few times. When he fell, I wrapped a cord around his neck and I took his life.”

Dearborn Patch reports Sandison has plead guilty to second-degree murder. He now faces the possibility of a second consecutive life sentence. He has also moved from the Saginaw Correctional Facility and placed under maximum security at the Ionia Correctional Facility.

[Image(s) via Michigan Department of Corrections]