On this day, April 12, in 1999, Marion Albert Pruett was put to death for a killing spree while in the federal witness protection program.
In 1979, Pruett was given $800 and a new identity for testifying against another inmate in the prison slaying of his cell mate.
In 1981, under his new alias, Charles “Sonny” Pearson, Pruett went on a weeklong rampage.
He fatally bludgeoned his wife with a hammer in New Mexico, then kidnapped and killed a bank employee in Mississippi. He then murdered three convenience store clerks in Arkansas and Colorado.
Pruett confessed in court to being a “mad dog killer,” driven by a $4,000-a-week cocaine habit.
While on death row, Pruett offered to make a paid appearance on “Geraldo” to reveal the location of one of his murder victims in Florida.
