DENVER—An inmate at Sterling Correctional Facility has been indicted on allegations of threatening to assault, kidnap and kill at least two 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judges.
Donald Penrod, 51, faces six federal charges of threatening judges and five counts of mailing threatening communications. An indictment handed up Wednesday alleges Penrod made his threats between November 2006 and August 2007, including sending threatening letters to Judges Michael McConnell and Michael Murphy in April 2007.
Penrod has been incarcerated since 1991 and has filed several lawsuits against state prison officials. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney.
In a 1996 ruling, the appellate court agreed with Penrod that prison officials should provide him with toothpaste and a toothbrush, but tossed out other claims involving access to the prison’s law library and prison employment.
In court records, appellate judges described Penrod’s self-filed court documents as “rambling, garbled pleadings” that were “not consistently pertinent” or intelligible.
