Kentucky Department of Corrections, Kentucky
End of Watch: Wednesday, July 18, 1956
Age: 57
Tour of Duty: 13 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Date of Incident: July 18, 1956
Weapon Used: Edged weapon; Knife
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Lieutenant Owen Davenport was stabbed to death in the prison yards of the Kentucky State Penitentiary.
The 23-year-old inmate, serving a five year sentence for a 1954 larceny conviction, stabbed Lieutenant Davenport in the throat with a home-made knife. He said he was high on smuggled drugs and had know memory of the incident. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He was granted a new trial, convicted of murder, and sentenced to life in 1958. On May 4, 1967, he and three other inmates were charged with holding a guard hostage at knifepoint in an effort to escape from Eddyville State Penitentiary.
Lieutenant Davenport had served with the Kentucky Department of Corrections for 13 years.