Man who set nurse on fire at Fort Leavenworth hospital loses appeal

A federal appeals court has rejected the appeal of a former hospital worker at Fort Leavenworth who tried to kill his boss by setting her on fire.

A federal court jury had found Clifford Currie guilty of assault with intent to commit murder for the September 2016 incident that left his supervisor, First Lt. Katie Blanchard, severely burned.

Blanchard was attacked inside her office at Munson Army Health Center on Fort Leavenworth where Currie, now 56, was a civilian employee.

Currie was sentenced last year in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., to 20 years in federal prison.

On appeal, he argued that the prosecutor made several improper statements to jurors that prevented him from receiving a fair trial.

In its ruling Friday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that although some statements made by the prosecutor during closing argument to the jury were improper, they did not amount to a violation of Currie’s right to a fair trial.

This story was originally published December 21, 2018 at 12:54 PM.