Prison beating death brings 10- to 20-year sentence

A prisoner who in 2010 beat and stomped to death another inmate at the Correctional Institution at Graterford has been sentenced to 10 to 20 years in jail, a Montgomery County judge ruled Monday afternoon.

John A. Kasianczuk, of the 8500 block of New Falls Road, Levittown, will serve his term at a state prison, Judge Patricia E. Coonahan said in her ruling.

Kasianczuk, who was 33 at the time of the attack, beat and kicked inmate Roberto Avalle in the head as the two exercised in an outdoor cage on the grounds at Graterford.

Avalle, then 49, of Philadelphia, was "the new kid on the block," and had been there only 10 days when the attack occurred on Aug. 22, said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

Avalle suffered a brain hemorrhage which caused his death on October 9, 2010. Kasianczuk was charged with homicide after a police investigation, and later pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter.

At Monday's hearing, testimony was presented indicating that as a child, Kasianczuk had suffered sexual abuse. A remark that Avalle made just before the attack triggered an episode of post traumatic stress syndrome, according to public defender John E. Kravitz.

Based on those circumstances, Kravitz asked for a lighter sentence.

"He had been assaulted as a child, and the victim had threatened to do the same to him," said Kravitz. "Our contention is that John is ill, and this fellow set him off. He snapped."

Voluntary manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 10 to 20 years in prison, so the judge "gave us the maximum," Kravitz said.

"I respectfully disagree with the sentence," Kravitz said, although he said he understood that the judge "tried to protect the people of this county."

At the time of the attack, Avalle was serving a 2-1/2 to five year sentence for a witness intimidation case in Philadelphia, Ferman said.

In contrast, Kasianczuk was serving a 1-1/2 to three-year jail term for a robbery in Bucks County. He had been incarcerated since August 25, 2008, Ferman said, and was about to be released when state troopers arrested him on April 16, 2011.