Ex-butcher inmate kills, butchers deer caught in Wash. prison netting

The Washington State Penitentiary says an inmate on a work crew killed and butchered a deer that was entangled in netting at the prison's pheasant farm near Walla Walla.

Spokeswoman Shari Hall says the minimum-security prisoner killed the deer last Saturday using a box cutter that the crew is allowed to use. Investigators acting on a tip Tuesday found about 15 pounds of venison in garbage bags in the farm's break room.

Hall says she didn't know what the inmate intended to do with the meat. The break room has no cooking equipment, and no campfires are allowed on the farm.

The inmate, who is a former butcher, lost work crew privileges and could face other punishment.

He is incarcerated on a drug conviction and is scheduled to be released in December 2012.

-- Associated Press