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Charges: Man Convicted In Iowa Murder Spree Tried To Kill Inmate

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Minnesota man who was convicted of killing two Iowa convenience store clerks in 2010 is now accused of trying to murder a prison inmate.

According to the Iowa Department of Corrections, 21-year-old Michael Swanson, a St. Louis Park native, approached the seated inmate and slashed the man's neck with an edged weapon. He was pulled off of the man by another inmate and a corrections officer.

The incident took place last November, according to investigators.

The victim had at least 15 lacerations to the neck and had to have multiple stitches.

Swanson has been sentenced to life in prison for the murders of 61-year-old Sheila Myers and 47-year-old Vicki Bowman-Hall. They were killed within a span of hours on Nov. 15, 2010.

When being sentenced, Swanson flipped off TV cameras and smiled after the jury convicted him.

The judge told Swanson he was evil and it would do no good to lecture him.

Swanson's attorney argued that his client had a long history of mental health problems and if he had been given proper medication, the murders could have been avoided.

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