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Federal prosecutors have elected to not seek the death penalty in the 2019 El Paso shooting case.
Back in August 2019, 23 people were massacred at an El Paso Walmart in a targeted attack on the Mexican community. A then-21-year-old white man named Patrick Wood Crusius was ultimately apprehended and hit with federal hate crime and firearms charges.
We should also add that Crusius is accused of uploading an online diatribe prior to the shooting, in which he stated, “This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” He’s also accused of driving all the way to El Paso from the Dallas suburbs in order to carry out the massacre.
While a statement from the Department of Justice noted that these charges “carry a maximum penalty of death or life imprisonment,” news recently broke that federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Crusius, the El Paso Times reports.
With this decision, the next step is for Crusius to have his day in federal court.
U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama reportedly scheduled the trial to kick off next year, and jury selection is set to begin in early January 2024.
We should also add that, while federal prosecutors aren’t interested in pursuing the death penalty, it’s reportedly still on the table when it comes to his Texas capital murder trial. However, a date has not yet been set for the state trial.
In response to the charges against him, Crusius pleaded not guilty. However, according to PBS NewsHour, Crusius is noted as telling officers otherwise, as he reportedly admitted that he was the shooter after surrendering, per an arrest warrant.
What do you think about the feds taking the death penalty off the table for Patrick Wood Crusius?
