The Justice Department will not seek the death penalty in a case against a shooter who allegedly killed 19 people at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in 2019, it said in a brief court filing on Tuesday.
The Justice Department has not clarified why it is not seeking the death penalty.
Patrick Crusius faces state murder and federal hate crime charges for allegedly killing 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso in August 2019.
Crusius was indicted on 90 federal indictments by federal prosecutors in 2019. This includes 22 hate crimes resulting in death, 22 murders with a firearm, 23 hate crimes including attempted murder, and 23 convictions. about the use of firearms in crime.
He has been accused of being the only gunman to carry out the August 3, 2019 killing spree, which federal officials investigated as an act of “domestic terrorism.” said at the time of the announcement.
Crusius told investigators after his arrest that he tried to kill as many Mexicans as possible after driving from his home in Allen, Texas, about 650 miles east of El Paso.
The Justice Department suspended executions during the Biden administration after former Attorney General William Barr resumed executions at the end of the Trump administration.
Lawyers for Crusius have not yet responded to a request for comment.
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