Inmate serving life term to stand trial in beating


October 13, 2011 at 8:48a.m.

Inmate serving life term to stand trial in beating

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — An inmate serving a life sentence for murder has been ordered to stand trial in the near-fatal stomping attack on a fellow prisoner.

The Times-Tribune of Scranton reports Michael Simonson was bound over for trial on attempted homicide and related charges in the August 2010 attack on Nicholas Pinto.

Authorities say Simonson attacked Pinto, stomping on his head at least a dozen times because of his hatred of inmates being held on child pornography charges.

Simonson is in Lackawanna County Prison for an unrelated killing. He briefly escaped from the prison late last month but was captured after a pursuit through downtown Scranton.

Pinto was sentenced to 15 years in prison on federal child pornography charges in August. He’s filed a civil suit against the county over the assault.