A Dude Really Dedicated To Murder Murders His Mother Two Days After Getting Out Of Prison For Murder

We all have our guilty pleasures. Some people have a hankering for sweets, others like to indulge a little bit in the all-key-hall.

Steven Pratt’s preference seems to be for murder.

Because two days after getting released after serving a 30-year sentence for murder, Pratt killed his mother. The 46-year-old pled guilty this week in Atlantic City to manslaughter.

The story starts back in 1984, when a 15-year old Pratt got into argument with his next door neighbor, who then struck him after Pratt approached him with a pipe.

The next day, Pratt knocked on his door and shot the man. He was tried as an adult, and served 30 years in a maximum security prison. Upon his release in October 2014, he went to live with his mother, who he promptly killed.

On the Sunday morning after Pratt’s release, police found Gwendolyn dead from blunt injuries to the head. Pratt was charged, and at his initial court appearance, he wept.

“I have failed,” Pratt told the judge, his voice barely audible, the Press of Atlantic City reported. “I don’t want a trial. I’m guilty.”

All kidding aside, recidivism is a serious problem in this nation.

A 2014 Bureau of Justice Statistics report found that about 77 percent of released prisoners were arrested for a new crime within five years. Among convicted murderers, however, the recidivism rate is much lower, especially when it comes to those who commit murder again.

Pratt was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the new murder.

[Via The Washington Post]