By Peter E. Bortner
Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Already serving a life sentence for murder, William A. Cramer added to his rap sheet Tuesday when a Schuylkill County jury convicted him of slicing a prison guard’s throat in November 2015.
Handcuffed and leg-shackled during his one-day trial, Cramer, 26, of the Uniontown area, did not react when the jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of attempted first-degree murder, inmate procuring weapon, possessing instrument of crime, introducing weapon that may be used in escape and two counts each of aggravated assault and assault by prisoner.
“Some of the prison guards say he’s one of the most dangerous guys in the system,” District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake said of Cramer, who was confined to a cage during breaks in the trial.
President Judge William E. Baldwin, who presided over the trial, ordered preparation of a presentence investigation and said he would schedule Cramer’s sentencing at a later date. Baldwin said sentencing probably would be done by videoconference, since authorities took Cramer to State Correctional Institution/Forest after the verdict.
State police at Frackville charged Cramer, whose face contains Nazi and white power tattoos, with slicing the throat of Corrections Officer Jared Mausteller, and then stabbing him in the left forearm with a homemade shank at 8:40 a.m. Nov. 21, 2015, in the restricted housing unit at State Correctional Institution/Mahanoy.
“He struck me on the throat and forearm,” Mausteller testified. “I put my hands over my left forearm to stop the bleeding.”
Mausteller said Cramer cut him from his earlobe to the center of his throat.
“I went through two surgeries” and received 18 stitches, he said.
Mausteller said he still has scars on his neck and forearm, and has not been able to return to work.
“I have limited strength in my left hand,” he said.
State police Cpl. Alan J. Zulick, the prosecuting officer, showed the jury the shank.
“You can see at the top here a piece of metal” resembling a razor blade, Zulick said. “It’s reasonably rigid.”
Zulick also testified that Cramer admitted he intended to kill Mausteller because he was friendly with black inmates. He also said Cramer had a definite, although somewhat morbid, goal.
“He wanted to be a death row inmate,” Zulick said. “There was no remorse.”
Cramer, who, due to security concerns, testified from his seat with a cloth hiding his handcuffs and leg shackles from jurors, said he acted in self-defense due to mistreatment he had received. He said his cell had been flooded, black prisoners were allowed to abuse him and he was kept naked for 60 days.
“My water was shut off. I was not allowed food,” he said. “I snapped.”
Cramer said he never intended to kill Mausteller.
“I’m just trying to protect myself,” he said. “I was on the verge of killing myself.”
Cramer’s mother, Dorothy M. Richard, wept while testifying that she last saw her son 2 1/2 years ago and that her attempts to visit him often are rejected.
In his closing argument, James G. Conville, Schuylkill Haven, Cramer’s lawyer, said the guards were at fault for mishandling the situation. He said they should not have mistreated Cramer and the prison should not have ignored his grievances.
However, jurors accepted the closing argument of O’Pake, who said Cramer was the only one at fault because he made a vicious and unprovoked attack.
“He premeditated all of this. He was proud of the fact that he sliced him up,” O’Pake said. “It certainly could have been avoided if the defendant hadn’t hidden a shank. It could have been avoided if the defendant hadn’t had that evil intention.”
Sheriff Joseph J. Groody said Cramer was the most dangerous prisoner he ever has had to deal with.
“That’s why we have all the added security here,” including the state prison system’s hostage rescue team, Groody said. “He shows no remorse whatsoever. He’s just an evil person.”
After the verdict, Conville declined to comment on the case, while O’Pake said jurors reached the right result.
“It’s obvious to me that this guy has a death (wish),” he said. “You’ve got to give the jury credit.”
Cramer received his life sentence after a Cambria County jury found him guilty on Oct. 14, 2013, of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and assault by prisoner. Judge Patrick T. Kiniry imposed the life sentence on Nov. 4, 2013.
State police at Ebensburg charged Cramer with stabbing his cellmate, William Sherry, 28, of Northern Cambria, on Aug. 4, 2012.
©2018 the Republican & Herald (Pottsville, Pa.)