A federal appeals court has refused for the second time in as many days to stop the scheduled execution next week of a man condemned for fatally stabbing a Texas corrections officer more than 15 years ago.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday rejected an appeal from 35-year-old Robert Pruett. He's set for lethal injection Tuesday evening in Huntsville for the December 1999 slaying of 37-year-old Daniel Nagle, an officer at the McConnell Unit prison near Beeville.
Pruett's attorneys argue he's innocent, that prosecutors improperly withheld evidence and failed to properly preserve evidence that could exonerate Pruett. The appeals court disagreed.
Testimony showed Pruett was angry about a disciplinary report from Nagle. At the time, Pruett already was serving a 99-year sentence for a 1995 Houston-area slaying.
