A convicted killer has been found guilty of assaulting a prison officer but his lawyer immediately announced he would appeal.

Lifer Leroy Elmer Burgess, 35, punched prison officer Stuart Hollis in the face and chest at Westgate prison on June 6 last year.

His lawyer, Larry Mussenden, said Burgess had been provoked because Hollis had said Burgess was a murderer but he had only been convicted of manslaughter.

Burgess was jailed for life in 1993 for the 1992 killing of female German tourist Antja Herkommer while he was on a work release programme in Dockyard.

Magistrate William Francis said: "I have no doubt this accused was agitated and depressed, that's what moved the accused to react as he did."

But he ruled the test was whether an ordinary person would have lost self control in that situation.

Mr. Francis said an ordinary person would not have attacked the prison officer and that provocation was not an acceptable defence.

He said that if fellow prisoner Jerome Dublin had not helped restrain Burgess the prison officer would have been seriously injured.

Mr. Mussenden then said he would appeal but did not say on what grounds.

He asked for sentencing to be delayed until the outcome of the appeal was decided but Crown counsel Graveney Bannister argued for immediate sentencing.

Mr. Francis said that Burgess was not going anywhere because of his lengthy prison sentence. He ordered the case be mentioned in court tomorrow.

He will also rule on Mr. Bannister's application to have sentencing carried out by the Supreme Court.