Man who killed mom days after prison release gets 25 years

MAYS LANDING, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man who killed his mother two days after completing a 30-year prison sentence for killing a neighbor has been sentenced to 25 more years in prison.

Steven Pratt pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter for killing 64-year-old Gwendolyn Pratt at her home in Atlantic City in October 2014. He was sentenced Friday.

Pratt was 15 when he shot and killed his next-door neighbor in 1984. He received a 30-year prison sentence in 1986 and was freed two days before the gruesome murder of his mother.

The 46-year-old must serve 85 percent of the 25-year prison sentence before he'll be eligible for parole.

Pratt told a judge through tears three days after killing his mother that he was guilty and didn't want a trial.


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