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Man convicted of Josephine County assault dies in prison By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Jan 31, 2022 11:43 AM A A Wayland Dale McCarty, 61, died Saturday in Oregon Department of Corrections custody while serving a two-year sentence stemming from a Josephine County cane attack. Oregon DOC photo. A Grants Pass man serving prison an attack involving a metal cane has died in prison. Wayland Dale McCarty, 61, died Saturday at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem, according to a release issued by the Oregon Department of Corrections. McCarty was serving a two-year prison sentence on an assault conviction stemming from a June 13 attack at his home, according to an affidavit filed by the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office in Josephine County Circuit Court. The roughly five-strike attack with a cane ultimately broke the victim’s jaw and required hospitalization. Witnesses told police at the time that there was no justifiable reason for the attack. On Sept. 9, McCarty pleaded guilty to a felony charge of third-degree assault surrounding the attack, and was sentenced to 25 months in Oregon Department of Corrections custody. McCarty entered Department of Corrections custody Sept. 16, and his earliest release date was July 13, 2023. At the time of his death, McCarty was held in the medium-security Oregon State Correctional Institution, which according to the Department of Corrections houses 870 adult inmates and provides rehabilitation services that include “education, drug and alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, religious services, work crews and transition planning.”