Opal Margaret 'Peggy' Holder, a 42-year-old White female, was working at the Unifirst Federal Savings and Loan at the MetroCenter Mall branch in Jackson, Mississippi, on September 17, 1981, when her life took a tragic turn. On that day, she was abducted from her workplace, beginning a harrowing ordeal that would end in her murder. The search for Peggy ended in heartbreak on October 27, 1981, when her body was discovered in Sumter County, Alabama.
The investigation into her kidnapping and murder led authorities to a suspect named Marion Albert Pruett. Pruett was subsequently arrested and indicted for the murder of Peggy Holder. He faced a capital murder charge, and his trial was held in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi. The case was later moved to Lowndes County.
Following the trial, Marion Albert Pruett was found guilty of the capital murder of Opal Margaret 'Peggy' Holder and was sentenced to death. Despite his conviction, the legal battle was far from over. Pruett's case went through numerous legal proceedings, including appeals and petitions for writs of habeas corpus. In 1987, he sought to be discharged from custody, arguing that the state had not retried him within a federally mandated 120-day period. Despite these legal challenges, his conviction for Peggy's murder was upheld, and he remained on death row.
