By: Richard L. Smith
Darryl Watson, an inmate at Essex County Jail, was handed a 20-year sentence by Superior Court Judge The Honorable Ronald D. Wigler for his attempt to murder fellow inmate, Jayshawn Boyd, 22, from Newark.
The sentencing follows Watson's conviction on June 14, where a jury found him guilty of several charges stemming from a violent attack on Boyd.
In the gruesome assault, which took place in September 2019, Watson, alongside six other inmates, used unconventional weapons such as a microwave, a water cooler, and an industrial mop bucket to beat Boyd.
The brutal attack left Boyd with permanent brain damage.
Judge Wigler's decision mandates that the new sentence for attempted murder will be added to Watson’s existing sentence for another crime.
Watson had been previously sentenced to 70 years in prison on June 28, 2023, for the murder of Fred Sims, a Newark local, in February 2019.
With the added 20-year term, Watson's combined time behind bars totals a staggering 90 years.
Commenting on the severity of the jailhouse assault, Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who led the prosecution alongside Assistant Prosecutor William Chalmers, remarked, "Despite Boyd being unconscious, Watson relentlessly continued the assault, striking Boyd's defenseless head with heavy objects.
The extended sentence guarantees Watson's confinement for the foreseeable future, ensuring justice for Boyd, his family, and the broader community."