Robert Pruett bade farewell to friends, saying “I’m ready to go. Nighty night, everybody. I’m done, Warden.” And then he was executed by lethal injection in Texas on Thursday.
The 38-year-old was already doing 99 years in a murder when he was accused of killing corrections officer Daniel Nagle in a December 1999 struggle at a prison southeast of San Antonio, but Pruett had maintained his innocence, the Toronto Sun reported.
The fight was about a peanut butter sandwich. Nagle had sustained stab wounds from a prison ‘shiv,’ but he reportedly died of a heart attack.
The Toronto Sun recounted Pruett’s final words and his last several minutes.
“I’ve had to learn lessons in life the hard way,” he said. “One day there won’t be a need to hurt people.”
Pruett then addressed his friends watching through the window, saying he loved them before concluding “I’m ready to go. Nighty night, everybody. I’m done, warden.”
The lethal dose was administered and Pruett began chanting “love, light, it’s forever,” then came some screaming and he finally slipped into unconsciousness.
The Washington Post reported Pruett had been sentenced to 99 years after being convicted as a 15-year-old accomplice to murder a committed by his father.
In Nagle’s prison killing, Pruett insisted he had been framed, suggesting he had been killed by other inmates or officers.
Reuters reported the Nagle family saying in a statement that the execution in no way minimized their loss.
“Though it has been over 18 years since he was taken from us, we still miss Daniel every day.”
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