ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. — A Maryland inmate serving life plus 30 years has been sentenced to life again for murdering his cellmate.
Wallace Dudley Ball, 64, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on December 16, 2025, according to the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office.
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On February 21, 2025, just before 7 p.m., correctional officers at the Jessup Correctional Institution discovered 61-year-old Warren Michael Griffin dead on his cell floor during routine checks.
Authorities found Ball with a cord wrapped around his neck and blood stains throughout the cell.
In a written confession, Ball admitted to the killing, stating he "punched him in the face then tied a string around his neck until he was dead."
Investigators interviewed facility staff and collected physical evidence, including Ball's blood-stained shoes and pants. He also had blood on his hands.
Ball was already serving a life sentence for murdering 19-year-old Debra Anne Goodwich, who was found shot to death in Baltimore County in September 1994.
Police at the time discovered signs of forced entry through a back window and cut telephone lines. Investigators believed Goodwich interrupted a burglary in progress.
Ball became a suspect after police learned he and his wife had worked for the victim's father and that Ball had completed roofing work at the family's home.
He was initially sentenced to death by a Prince George's County judge. Following several appeals, a Charles County judge ordered a new sentencing hearing in 2000, where his sentence was reduced to life plus 30 years.
"It is a tragedy that this defendant has taken not one, but two lives," said Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess. "Inmates should be able to serve their time with safety and dignity. The number of recent homicides committed in the Division of Correction—where many facilities are located in our county—is alarming. This should be a wake-up call that inmate and correctional officer safety needs to be greatly improved, and there is little solace that we can prosecute a homicide after the fact. My hope is that this defendant and other dangerous inmates are housed appropriately to ensure the future safety of other inmates as they serve their sentences."
The new life sentence will run consecutive to Ball's current life sentence plus 30-year sentence.
