What is the state of the mental state of defendant in the context of his assault on a prison guard?

At the time of the Oregon escape, defendant was already a fugitive from capital charges in California, and he had recently used force against a jail guard to escape from California custody while awaiting trial for the capital offense. His confinement in Oregon stemmed from charges that he had subsequently committed a further violent felony in that state. These facts give rise to a logical inference that defendant was desperate to avoid punishment for his multiple serious crimes and would use force or violence to accomplish his goal. (Cf. People v. Ewoldt (1994) 7 Cal.4th 380, 402, 27 Cal.Rptr.2d 646, 867 P.2d 757 [prior conduct as evidence of criminal mental state on similar subsequent occasion].)