Jan. 18, 2021
Credit.J. Pat Carter/Associated Press
Robert Pruett was 17 when he was sentenced to 99 years in prison for being party to his father’s fatal stabbing of a neighbor in 1995. Five years later, Mr. Pruett was sent to death row after being convicted of stabbing a guard to death.
Prosecutors said the guard, Daniel Nagle, was filing a disciplinary complaint against Mr. Pruett a motive for murder. But no physical evidence was ever produced to link Mr. Pruett to the slaying. He was instead convicted largely on eyewitness testimony from inmates, who Mr. Pruett’s lawyers say were compensated with favorable deals from the prosecution.