A federal jury has convicted Daniel V. Smith of first-degree murder for the killing of a fellow inmate at FCI Otisville. The announcement was made by Jay Clayton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Smith, 65, will be sentenced on December 4, 2025, and faces a mandatory life sentence.
“Daniel V. Smith murdered a fellow inmate in cold blood at FCI Otisville by brutally beating him in the head with a lock tied to a belt,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Thanks to the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, the defendant has been held accountable for his heinous crime.”
According to court documents and statements made during trial, Smith was serving time at FCI Otisville on October 26, 2021, for an earlier assault committed in 2013 while incarcerated. Seeking a transfer to another housing unit, Smith attacked an inmate in the neighboring cell without provocation by swinging a lock attached to a belt and repeatedly striking the victim’s head. The attack resulted in severe brain injury; the victim fell into a vegetative state and later died from his injuries.
Smith was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
U.S. Attorney Clayton acknowledged the staff at FCI Otisville for their assistance and commended the investigative work done by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin L. Brooke, Shaun E. Werbelow, Benjamin D. Klein, Jeffrey C. Coffman from the White Plains Division with support from Paralegal Specialist Jackie Fleury.
