Robert Pruett, American criminal
Robert Lynn Pruett (September 18, 1979 – October 12, 2017) was a Texas man convicted and executed for the 1999 murder of TDCJ Correctional Officer Daniel Nagle (September 9, 1962 – December 17, 1999) at the McConnell Unit, Bee County. Pruett had been certified as an adult at 16 and was already serving a 99-year sentence for his involvement in the murder of Ray Yarborough (January 4, 1967 – August 9, 1995), which occurred when Pruett was 15. Pruett was convicted along with Howard Steven "Sam" Pruett Sr. (born December 13, 1946, age 75), his father, who received a life sentence for his participation in the murder, and Howard Steven Pruett Jr. (born November 22, 1969, age 52), his brother, who received a 40-year sentence. Howard Sr. testified that neither son took part in the killing, as did Robert, who was nonetheless convicted under the Texas law of parties. Details of both the Yarborough and Nagle murders were featured in the BBC documentary Life and Death Row - Crisis Stage.Pruett also consistently denied involvement in Nagle's murder and his defense attorney stated that "what convicted him was the testimony of four or five convicts who received deals, of one kind or another, in exchange for the testimony against Pruett". The state relied on the testimony of Lisa Baylor, a forensic analyst who testified, using a now-debunked scientific method called "physical matching".Pruett died by lethal injection on October 12, 2017, after appeals for clemency to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles were rejected. Pruett started chanting during the execution and was visibly scared. Pruett was represented by the Texas Innocence Network and his attorneys pursued his innocence claim by appealing the denial of his DNA relief through the courts.While in the Texas death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Pruett received 4 stays of execution. His previous execution dates were May 21, 2013, May 21, 2014, April 28, 2015, April 27, 2016 (rescheduled to August 23, 2016 without comment, then stayed).