Texas | Walmart gunman won’t face the death penalty

Patrick Crusius, who has admitted to killing 23 people and wounding 22 others in a racist mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart in 2019, will no longer face the death penalty, El Paso Matters has learned.

District Attorney James Montoya, who took office on Jan. 1, called family members of those killed on Monday to inform them he wouldn’t seek the death penalty in the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting, multiple family members told El Paso Matters. The family members asked not to be identified because of a gag order in place since 2022 that prohibited lawyers and potential witnesses from discussing the case with the media.

Montoya declined to comment when contacted by El Paso Matters on Monday, citing the gag order. Defense attorney Joe Spencer also cited the gag order in declining comment.

The removal of the death penalty as an option could lead to a quick guilty plea and life sentence, as happened with federal charges in 2023.

Crusius drove more than 10 hours from his home in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburbs on Aug. 3, 2019, and chose the Cielo Vista Walmart for his attack. Using a semiautomatic rifle, he killed 23 people and wounded 22 others. Officials have said there’s no evidence anyone else was involved in the attack.

Shortly before the shooting, he posted a screed to a website frequented by white supremacists, saying the attack was meant “to stop the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

Crusius surrendered to police officers a short time after the shooting while driving on Viscount Boulevard.

The attack remains the sixth-deadliest mass shooting in United States history, and the deadliest terror attack aimed at Hispanics.

It is the deadliest U.S. mass shooting in which a suspect was captured and charged. Many mass shooters take their own lives or are killed by police.

In January 2023, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it would not seek the death penalty for the federal weapons and hate crimes charges Crusius faced. He quickly pleaded guilty and in July 2023 was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in federal prison, with a nonbinding recommendation from the judge that he serve his sentence in the nation’s most secure prison in Florence, Colorado.

The federal system does not include the possibility of parole.

The Justice Department refused to say why it made the decision to not seek capital punishment. But the prosecution and defense both said during the sentencing hearing that Crusius had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental health disorder characterized by delusions or hallucinations.

Montoya’s three predecessors as district attorney – Jaime Esparza, Yvonne Rosales and Bill Hicks – all said they would seek the death penalty against Crusius.

“I am disappointed that the Walmart shooter will not face a jury for his crimes, but the decision to move forward with a trial or to enter a plea agreement is completely within the discretion of the district attorney and it is totally DA Montoya’s decision at this point, not mine. I respect how difficult it must have been to make this decision,” said Hicks, who was appointed district attorney by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 and was defeated by Montoya in the November 2024 general election.

To order that a convicted killer in Texas be put to death, a jury must find unanimously that the person represents a future danger. The defense could have argued at trial that a sentence in the nation’s highest security prison would mean Crusius no longer presented a danger.

If a jury determines that someone represents a future danger, it then must weigh aggravating factors such as the defendant’s criminal history and the extreme violence of the crime against mitigating factors such as mental health in determining whether to recommend death or life in prison.

The state capital murder case was essentially put on hold to allow the federal prosecution to move forward first. The COVID-19 pandemic created complications for both the federal and state cases.

The state case was complicated by the troubled two-year tenure of Rosales as district attorney. She faced repeated accusations of failing to move criminal cases forward, including the Walmart shooting. One of her associates also was accused of targeting the family of one of those killed at the Walmart because the family wouldn’t go along with a plan to criticize the judge and a former prosecutor.

Rosales resigned in December 2022 as she faced a petition to remove her from office on the grounds that she was incompetent. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Hicks to replace Rosales.

Crusius’ lawyers have alleged prosecutorial misconduct by Rosales and Hicks in the handling of the case. Hicks has said his office has done nothing wrong and Rosales has faded from public view and not commented on the allegations.

At the end of 2024, two judges ruled that prosecutors in the District Attorney’s Office had acted improperly in a number of cases by altering court records and withholding evidence from defense lawyers. Crusius’ attorneys likely would have used those findings as they pressed their misconduct allegations against prosecutors in the Walmart case.

Source: Texas Public Radio, Robert Moore, March 25, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Comments

Maldives | Death penalty law for drug trafficking now in effect

MALÉ, Maldives (DPN) — The Maldives has officially brought into force an amendment to its Narcotics Act that introduces the death penalty for large-scale drug trafficking, marking a significant and controversial shift in the island nation’s criminal justice policy. The amended law, which took effect Saturday, March 7, 2026, allows for capital punishment in cases involving the smuggling and importation of specific quantities of illicit substances. The move fulfills a key pledge by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration to crack down on the country’s growing narcotics crisis and protect what he has termed the nation’s “100 percent Islamic society.” Thresholds for Capital Punishment Under the new provisions, the death penalty is not a mandatory sentence but an available option for the judiciary when specific criteria are met. The law establishes clear weight thresholds for substances brought into the country: Cannabis: More than 350 grams. Diamorphine (Heroin): More than 250 grams....

Alabama | Gov. Ivey commutes Charles “Sonny” Burton’s death sentence

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Gov. Kay Ivey has commuted the death sentence of Charles “Sonny” Burton, who was set to be executed Thursday. The governor’s office released the following statement: “Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that she has commuted the death sentence of Charles L. Burton to life in prison with no chance of parole. Mr. Burton was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1991 capital murder of Doug Battle in Talladega, Alabama. As required by law, the governor first reached out to a representative of Mr. Battle’s family. She also notified the attorney general. Governor Ivey’s letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm is attached.

Supreme Court Denies Alabama Appeal, Allowing New Trial in Death Row Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for a new trial for one of Alabama’s longest-serving people on death row after declining to review a lower court ruling that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to an article written by the Associated Press, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in Alabama might receive a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prosecutors had violated his rights by intentionally rejecting Black jurors. According to the article, on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. This decision paved the way for Michael Sockwell, the 63-year-old death row inmate, to receive a new trial.

Texas executes Cedric Ricks

A Texas man was put to death Wednesday evening for fatally stabbing his girlfriend and her 8-year-old son in 2013, apologizing profusely to her older son who survived with multiple stab wounds and witnessed the execution. Cedric Ricks, 51, was pronounced dead at 6:55 p.m. CDT following a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was condemned for the May 2013 killings of 30-year-old Roxann Sanchez and her son Anthony Figueroa at their apartment in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Bedford. Sanchez’s 12-year-old son, Marcus Figueroa, was stabbed 25 times and feigned death in order to survive.

Prosecutors seek death penalty in 2 Georgia cases

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in two separate Georgia criminal cases. One involves the killing of a Gwinnett County police officer and another is over the death of a 4-year-old girl in Hall County . Kevin Andrews is charged in the death of 25-year-old Gwinnett County Police Officer Pradeep Tamang, who was shot and killed while investigating a credit card fraud case. Authorities said Andrews had an outstanding warrant and shot at officers without warning. Another officer, David Reed, was seriously injured.

Missouri Man Said DNA Test Could Prove Innocence. He Was Executed Before a Court Ruled.

Lance Shockley died by lethal injection last year. State courts have rejected prisoners’ requests for DNA testing in recent years. Lance Shockley, a man on death row in Missouri, wanted items from the crime scene to undergo DNA testing to potentially prove his innocence. The court scheduled proceedings on his request — but the date set was for two days after his execution. Patty Prewitt can’t have her DNA tested — and fully clear her name — because her sentence was commuted and she is no longer in prison. And others, including Lamar McVay, who is serving 30 years for a robbery, can’t even get an answer from the state on his DNA testing request. He's still awaiting a ruling on a motion he filed in September 2022.

Florida | Governor DeSantis signs death warrant in 2008 murder case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Michael L. King, setting an execution date of March 17, 2026, at 6 p.m. King was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2008 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old North Port mother. On January 17, 2008, Michael Lee King abducted 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee from her North Port home by forcing her into his green Chevrolet Camaro. He drove her around while she was bound, including to his cousin's house to borrow tools like a shovel. King took her to his home, where he sexually battered her, then placed her in the backseat of his car. Later that evening, he drove to a remote area, shot her in the face, and buried her nude body in a shallow grave. Her remains were discovered two days later. During the crime, multiple 9-1-1 calls were made, but communication breakdowns between emergency dispatch centers delayed the response. The case drew national attention and prompted w...

Texas Plans Second Execution of the Year

Cedric Ricks is set to be killed on March 11 Cedric Ricks spoke in his own defense at his 2013 murder trial, something most defendants accused of a terrible crime do not do. Ricks confessed that he had killed his girlfriend, Roxann Sanchez, and her 8-year-old son. He admitted he was aggressive and had trouble controlling his anger, stating that he was “sorry about everything.” The Tarrant County jury was unmoved. Ricks has spent the last 13 years on death row and is scheduled to be executed on March 11.

Florida executes Billy Kearse

Florida executes man who killed Fort Pierce police officer during 1991 traffic stop Moments before receiving a lethal injection, Billy Kearse asked for forgiveness from the family of Danny Parrish, whose widow said she found peace after a "long, long 35 years.” A man convicted of fatally shooting a police officer with his own service weapon during a traffic stop was executed Tuesday evening, becoming the third person put to death by Florida this year after a record 19 executions in 2025.

Chinese courts conclude trials of 2 criminal gangs from northern Myanmar, 16 sentenced to death

Chinese courts have concluded the trials of 2 major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) said Thursday. At a press conference held by the SPC, it was revealed that by the end of 2025, courts across the country had concluded first-instance trials of over 27,000 cases related to telecom fraud operations in northern Myanmar, with more than 41,000 returned suspects sentenced. Notably, among the trials of the so-called "4 major families" criminal gangs -- which had drawn widespread domestic and international attention -- those of the Ming and Bai groups have completed all judicial proceedings.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog