Billy Chapman was set to be released from Florida State Prison in October. Instead, his prison term for burglary became a death sentence.
On July 5, Chapman was strangled and stabbed, allegedly by two fellow inmates. No charges have been filed, but prison and law enforcement sources confirm the suspects are inmates William Wells and Leo Boatman.
READ MORE: 'Monster of Mayport' reportedly continues killing two decades after notorious mass murder
“I’ve never, never seen anything like that,” a state employee who saw the video of the attack told First Coast News. “They had his body pinned up against the door. They were stabbing everywhere. They stabbed his torso multiple times.”
A second employee who saw the video said he, too, had never witnessed anything as violent in his years at the prison.
Both employees described the incident as similar to prior attacks by William Wells – the self-described Monster of Mayport.
Wells was convicted of killing five people, including his wife, at his trailer in Mayport in 2003. He was given five life sentences. But his crimes continued.
In 2008, he strangled and stabbed an inmate. That man survived, but a second inmate – stabbed and strangled in 2011 – did not. Then, July 5, a third attack.
The state employees say the murder occurred in the prison dayroom with a dozen other inmates present. A guard was stationed at the door, but both employees say prison rules prohibit correctional officers from going into a conflict when weapons are involved.
Both say many minutes passed before correctional officers were able to gain entry. By then, it was too late.
“Prison should not be a death sentence for other inmates,” criminal defense attorney Curtis Falgatter, a former prosecutor, said. He faults the state Department of Corrections for failing to protect Chapman.
“A person like [Wells], they ought to have absolutely strict controls over him. This is the third either attempt or murder committed while [Wells has been] in custody. Why does it take two? Why does it take three?”
Wells, who has communicated with First Coat News over the years via letters and phone calls, said from the outset that he wanted the death penalty. He promised he would continue to kill until he received it.
Ironically, at his most recent murder trial in 2017, his attorney Terence Lenamon argued against a death sentence, in part by assuring jurors, “you don’t have to worry about [Wells reoffending]. Corrections clearly knows what has to be done and they do their job. … They learned from heir mistake. And I would suggest, Mr. Wells is going to do just fine.”
Tania Alavi, Wells’ other attorney in that case, says that argument was made because, under Florida law, jurors can’t consider potential future crimes as a reason to support a death sentence.
“Legally that would be an improper consideration for them,” she said. “In some states, what’s called ‘future dangerousness’ is allowed to be considered [a factor in a death penalty case]. We are not one of those states.”
Alavi says the July 5 attack isn’t the fault of Wells’ sentence, but his classification by Department of Corrections. Despite his prior violence against inmates, he was categorized as CM-3 – the least restrictive of three levels of Close Management supervision.
“It probably wasn’t appropriate if they’re in the situation that they’re in now,” she said. “That’s a complete administrative call by DOC.”
Contacted this week, prison officials declined to provide any additional information, but in an earlier statement said, “The safe and secure operation of Florida’s correctional institutions is the Department of Corrections’ top priority.”
Billy Chapman’s surviving family members disagree. His sister Wanda Cann told First Coast News' Gainesville affiliate WCJB her brother has long feared for his life in prison.
She believes as long as Wells is allowed contact with other inmates, their lives are in danger.
“That prison is responsible,” she said. "This guy said he was going to kill again, and he killed again. He’s going to continue killing until he’s stopped.”