Minnesota abolished death penalty in 1911, but Vance Boelter’s federal charges mean he could still face it

MINNEAPOLIS AP The man charged with killing a prominent Minnesota lawmaker and wounding another could face something that is a rarity for Minnesota but could become more common under the Trump administration the death penalty Minnesota abolished capital punishment in and the state s last execution was a botched hanging in But federal prosecutors disclosed charges against Vance Boelter on Monday that can carry the death penalty It is not unheard of for state and federal prosecutors to both pursue criminal cases for the same offense especially in high-profile matters Related from MNopedia The repeal of the death penalty in Minnesota In this incident federal personnel essentially grabbed the lead from the state prosecutor Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty who happens to oppose the death penalty Boelter had been scheduled to make his first court appearance on state charges Monday but instead marshals took him from the county jail to the U S courthouse in St Paul where he appeared on the more serious federal charges Boelter is accused of fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs Before that executives say he also shot and wounded another Democrat Sen John Hoffman and his wife Yvette who lived a sparse miles away He surrendered Sunday night after what officials have called the largest search in Minnesota history The federal circumstance Two of the six federal counts can carry the death penalty something federal prosecutors have not sought in a Minnesota-based matter since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in Will we seek the death penalty It s too early to tell That is one of the options Acting U S Attorney Joseph Thompson noted Monday at a news conference where he revealed new details of what he described as a meticulously planned attack They included assertions that Boelter also stopped at the homes of two other lawmakers that night and had dozens of other Democrats as feasible targets including administrators in other states Boelter s federal defenders have declined to comment on the event and he has not entered a plea On her first day in office in February Attorney General Pam Bondi lifted a moratorium on federal executions that was imposed under the Biden administration in Only three defendants remain on federal death row after Biden converted of their sentences to life in prison Bondi has since authorized federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in at least three cases including against Luigi Mangione for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson In the other two cases the Justice Department has declared it is seeking the death penalty against defendants charged with killing fellow prison inmates President Donald Trump s first administration carried out federal executions more than the administration of any other president in modern history The state s affair with no death penalty option The federal intervention in Boelter s incident appeared to irritate Moriarty the county s former chief inhabitants defender who was elected on a police revision and racial justice platform in after the police killing of George Floyd At a news conference Monday to announce the state charges Moriarty gave only vague answers in response to questions about the interplay between the federal and state investigations But she acknowledged there s a tension and explained federal bureaucrats can speak for themselves Moriarty explained she intends to press forward in state court regardless and to seek an indictment for first-degree murder for the killings of the Hortmans which would carry a mandatory sentence of life without parole Thompson narrated reporters that the federal circumstance does not nullify the state charges They remain in place My expectation based on prior cases is the federal episode the federal charges will be litigated first but the state charges won t necessarily go anywhere On Wednesday Moriarty explained in an interview with The Associated Press that she communicated federal prosecutors that she wants her office to try Boelter first But she commented she came away with the impression that the U S Attorney s Office intends to exercise its legal authority to go first Moriarty stated she wants the first chance because this horrific crime happened in our society and the lawmakers represented parts of Hennepin County And she pointed out that her office tries murder cases all the time and that it is the largest prosecutors office in the state We have all the guidance and experience to handle these cases because that s what we do she commented We feel that we owe it to the population to prosecute this scenario and we would like to go first Personnel with the U S Attorney s Office did not forthwith return a call seeking comment Wednesday What usually happens Usually murder cases are overwhelmingly handled in state courts explained Mark Osler a death penalty expert at the University of St Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis Clearly this is something of national interest And that seemed to play a role in the decision that the Justice Department is making here Osler who formerly served as Moriarty s deputy county attorney and head of her criminal division as well as assistant U S attorney in Detroit acknowledged that there are often tensions between state and federal prosecutors There s no doubt that it s complicated Osler mentioned And it s hard to avoid the sense of the older sibling grabbing something away from the younger sibling What s next If federal representatives do pursue the death penalty Osler explained they will face an distinctive challenge a jury pool drawn from the citizens of a state that has rejected the death penalty for over years It s not the same as choosing people in a state where there s a history of endorsement for the death penalty such as Texas Moriarty opposes the death penalty and hopes that the federal prosecutors decide not to seek it against Boelter noting that she hopes to try him for first-degree murder which would mean life without parole if he is convicted I certainly hope they respect the fact that Minnesota hasn t had a death penalty for decades and that s because of our values here Moriarty noted After his federal court appearance Boelter was taken to the Sherburne County Jail in suburban Elk River where federal prisoners are often held His next federal court appearance is June He does not have any further appearances scheduled in state court There s a natural competitiveness that occurs sometimes between jurisdictions but you have to hope that in the end they re all facing the same way where there s something as central to constituents safety as this event is Osler commented Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed The post Minnesota abolished death penalty in but Vance Boelter s federal charges mean he could still face it appeared first on MinnPost