Newark – Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II announced today that Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler sentenced Essex County Jail inmate Darryl Watson to 20 years in prison for attempted murder in the jailhouse beating of fellow inmate Jayshawn Boyd, 22, of Newark.

On June 14, 2023, a jury found Watson guilty of multiple crimes against Boyd, including first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault, and third-degree possession of a microwave for an unlawful purpose. In September 2019, Watson and six inmates beat Boyd in the county jail with a microwave, a water cooler, an industrial mop bucket, and other things, which left him with permanent brain damage.

Judge Wigler ordered that the sentence for attempted murder run consecutive to the sentence Watson is presently serving for murder. On June 28, 2023, Judge Wigler sentenced Watson to 70 years for the murder of Newark resident Fred Sims in February 2019. As result of the consecutive sentence, Watson’s aggregate sentence in state prison is 90 years.

Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor William Chalmers, said, “Watson continued to beat Boyd after he was lying on the ground unconscious, and returned to his defenseless body to strike him

in the head many times with industrial-sized items. This sentence ensures that Watson will remain in prison for decades, which is justice for the victim, his family, and the community.”