In the summer of 2012, the life of 23-year-old Jamall Litmale Pratt was cut tragically short in a violent episode that unfolded in Columbia, South Carolina. On June 28th, Richland County Sheriff's deputies were called to an apartment on Garner's Ferry Road, where they discovered a horrific scene. Inside, Pratt and another man, 24-year-old Athell Johnson, were found, having been tortured and shot in the head.
A 24-year-old woman, who had been injured and left by the roadside, led authorities to the apartment. Both Pratt and Johnson were transported to Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries the following day, on June 29, 2012. The cause of death for both men was determined to be complications from gunshot wounds to the head.
The investigation into the double homicide moved swiftly, with Richland County Sheriff's deputies identifying two suspects: 27-year-old William Anthony Wallace and 36-year-old DeAndre Leroy Diggs. Both men were subsequently arrested and faced a litany of charges, including two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, three counts of kidnapping, and two counts of armed robbery. Authorities characterized the brutal slayings as a 'drug deal gone bad,' with Sheriff Leon Lott describing the killings as some of the 'most cold-blooded' he had ever witnessed.
The case against William Wallace proceeded to trial, where a harrowing narrative of the events came to light. The female survivor, who had been abducted from the scene, provided crucial eyewitness testimony. She recounted how Wallace and Diggs had bound Pratt and Johnson, who was confined to a wheelchair, before shooting them in an execution-style manner. The woman also testified that she was taken to a wooded area and shot, but managed to survive and seek help. Her testimony, combined with compelling scientific evidence, painted a grim picture of the final moments of Jamall Pratt and Athell Johnson. In August 2014, a Richland County jury found William Wallace guilty of the murders. He was subsequently sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole. His accomplice, DeAndre Diggs, reportedly turned state's evidence in exchange for a potentially lighter sentence.
