ANNAPOLIS, Md. — On Dec. 16, 2025, a 64-year-old inmate already serving a life-plus-30-year sentence pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder in the killing of his cellmate at the Jessup Correctional Institution earlier this year.
Wallace Dudley Ball of Randallstown entered the plea in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in connection with the Feb. 21, 2025, death of 61-year-old Warren Michael Griffin. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
Authorities said Griffin was found dead during routine cell checks shortly before 7 p.m. on Feb. 21, 2025, inside a housing unit at the facility. Investigators determined Griffin had been strangled, and Ball was taken into custody at the scene.
Ball later provided a written confession admitting he assaulted Griffin and used a cord to kill him. Handwriting analysis linked the statement to Ball, and investigators documented bloodstains on his clothing and hands. DNA swabs, photographs and other physical evidence were collected as part of the investigation.
Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess credited the Maryland State Police and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for the investigation, saying the plea may offer some measure of closure to the victim’s family.
Assistant State’s Attorney Shane Nolan prosecuted the case. The investigation was led by the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit with assistance from the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Intelligence and Investigative Division.
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For those who don’t know, Mr. Ball was imprisoned in 1997 for the murder of Ms. Goodrich. He was sentenced to death, but has appealed that for a life-sentence.