Maryland prisoner pleads guilty in fatal stabbing of inmate leader

Muslim leader Julius Pratt slain in 2006

A state prisoner pleaded guilty Thursday in the 2006 fatal attack on a popular Sunni Muslim inmate leader at the now-closed Maryland House of Correction.

William James Taylor, 42, pleaded guilty in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to second-degree murder. A 25-year sentence will run at the same time as his current life sentence for murder, according to court records. The arrangement does not allow him to return to court to ask a judge to shorten his sentence, a spokeswoman for Anne Arundel County prosecutors said.

The victim, Julius Pratt, was 34 when stabbed to death, and was also serving a life sentence for murder. At the time, prison officials said he was killed by a member of different Muslim organization. However, authorities also said they had no indication that the violence at the prison was tied to religious or gang affiliations.

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