Inmate convicted of murder in deadly shank attack at state prison

PLAQUEMINE – An inmate charged with killing another offender at a state prison in 2021 was found guilty of second-degree murder Wednesday. 

Prosecutors in Iberville Parish said it took only 16 minutes of deliberation to find Ernest Governor, 62, guilty of killing Reynault Danos at Elayn Hunt Prison on March 29, 2021. 

Investigators said the two inmates got into a fight over a TV, and Governor — armed with a shank — chased Danos to his cell. Danos closed the door behind him, but Governor was able to pull on the door until it opened and then stabbed Danos in the heart. 

Governor put the weapon down a shower drain and washed himself, but prison cameras captured the whole thing on video. 

The security breach at the prison was the focus of multiple WBRZ Investigative Unit stories at the time.

Governor was serving a sentence for aggravated battery and possession of a firearm
by a convicted felon. He now faces a life sentence.