Death Penalty News

Victims and family members condemned Boelter in court while honoring Mark and Melissa Hortman as brilliant, dedicated public servants. MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — A federal judge sentenced Vance Boelter to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years on Thursday for the targeted shootings and killings of Minnesota lawmakers last summer. Senior U.S. District Judge John Tunheim presided over the hearing in Minnesota federal court, where Boelter, 58, of Green Isle, Minnesota, faced final sentencing following his June guilty plea. The charges stem from last year’s killings of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shootings of state Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

US federal prosecutors said the man convicted of stabbing author Salman Rushdie contacted a person in Iran before the 2022 attack to confirm that the fatwa calling for Rushdie's death remained valid, the New York Times reported, as his federal terrorism trial opened on Wednesday. The trial in federal court in Buffalo will determine whether Hadi Matar acted independently out of religious anger or carried out the attack in response to the fatwa issued by Iran’s first Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini and in service of Lebanon's Hezbollah, according to the New York Times.

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have secured a superseding indictment against the Afghan national accused of fatally shooting a West Virginia National Guard soldier and seriously wounding another Guardsman near the White House last year, adding charges that could make him eligible for the death penalty. A federal grand jury returned a 17-count superseding indictment Tuesday against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 30, in connection with the Nov. 26, 2025, attack that killed Spc. Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injured Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe of Martinsburg.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the federal death penalty trial of Payton Gendron, who is already serving a life sentence after pleading guilty in state court to carrying out the racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket in 2022 that killed 10 Black people and injured three others. The upcoming proceedings relate to separate federal charges, where prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and jurors could ultimately decide whether Gendron is executed or remains in prison for life. Here are three key takeaways as the next phase of proceedings gets underway:

ATLANTA, Ga. — The man accused of stabbing and killing a 66-year-old woman on a MARTA train last Saturday has caught the attention of federal prosecutors. John Elijah Matthews, 25, faces a federal charge of committing an act of violence causing death on a mass transportation station, the District Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia said on Tuesday. He was also charged with murder in Fulton County.

MIAMI — The U.S. Department of Justice has unsealed a historic criminal indictment charging former Cuban President Raúl Castro and five co-defendants with murder and conspiracy.  The charges stem from the February 24, 1996, shoot-down of two unarmed civilian aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile group Brothers to the Rescue. The group frequently flew over the Florida Straits to search for and assist Cuban rafters fleeing the island. The unsealed document represents a major escalation in U.S.–Cuba relations, marking the first time in nearly seventy years that top Cuban leadership has faced criminal charges in an American courtroom for violence against U.S. citizens. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the indictment outside Miami's Freedom Tower, highlighting the decades-long push for accountability.

A 24-year-old man faces the possibility of life in prison after a federal grand jury indicted him for the murder of a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Decatur. A federal grand jury has returned a two-count indictment against 24-year-old Nahjel Malik Williams in connection with the February shooting death of a United States Postal Service employee.  Williams, a resident of Decatur, faces charges of first-degree murder of a federal employee and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death. The indictment follows an investigation into the Feb. 12 killing of Dequavious Graves. Graves was performing his official duties as a letter carrier in Decatur when the incident occurred. Premeditation Graves, 31, was shot and killed in the 2700 block of Oxford Drive near Flat Shoals Road just before 7 p.m. while performing his job. Federal prosecutors allege the killing of the letter carrier was planned in advance. At the time Graves was killed, Williams was already wan...

Federal prosecutors say they will not appeal a judge's ruling that tossed capital punishment charge against accused UnitedHealthcare CEO killer The accused killer's life will be spared after federal prosecutors said Friday they will not appeal a judge's ruling to quash capital punishment against him. In a letter, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District said it accepts U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett‘s Jan. 30 decision to dismiss a death penalty-eligible murder charge against Mangione, who is accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson Dec. 4, 2024.

The U.S. Justice Department has indicated its intent to pursue the death penalty against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan national accused of fatally shooting one West Virginia National Guard member and seriously wounding another near the White House in late November 2025. WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they intend to seek the death penalty against Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the 29-year-old Afghan national accused of ambushing two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House, killing one and gravely injuring the other. Lakanwal pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to nine federal charges, including first-degree murder, assault with intent to kill and illegal possession of a firearm. The arraignment before Judge Amit Mehta came amid indications from prosecutors that they are working toward "death-eligible charges" — potentially through additional or amended counts — as the case advances.

The man accused of killing two Israeli embassy employees in May is now facing even more charges.  The Justice Department announced Wednesday night that Elias Rodriguez is now charged with four counts of acts of terrorism. One criminal defense attorney believes the new charges are an intentional effort by prosecutors to sway a jury toward capital punishment if he is convicted. WASHINGTON - The man accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy employees in May is now facing even more charges. The Justice Department announced Wednesday night that Elias Rodriguez is now charged with four counts of acts of terrorism. 

NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed two charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, effectively removing the possibility of the death penalty in the high-profile case.  U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled Friday that the murder charge through use of a firearm — the only count that could have carried a capital sentence — was legally incompatible with the remaining interstate stalking charges against Mangione.

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is due in federal court Friday for a pivotal hearing in his fight to bar the government from seeking the death penalty against him in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione’s lawyers contend that authorities prejudiced his case by turning his December 2024 arrest into a “Marvel movie” spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed even before he was formally indicted.

The Afghan national accused of killing one National Guard soldier and injuring another in a Thanksgiving week attack in Washington, D.C., could now face the death penalty after prosecutors moved the case to federal court. The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it has filed a criminal complaint against 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, charging him with two federal firearms offenses: transporting or shipping a stolen firearm in interstate commerce and transporting or receiving firearms in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to commit a crime. Lakanwal is also charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault with intent to kill while armed.

The three white men were found guilty of murdering the 25-year-old Black man after chasing him in their trucks through a Georgia neighborhood. ATLANTA (CN) — The 11th Circuit on Friday upheld the convictions of the three white men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery five years ago after chasing the 25-year-old Black man down the streets of a Georgia subdivision. In a split opinion, the circuit judges ruled that sufficient evidence supported their convictions.

A local prosecutor in South Carolina plans to seek the death penalty against a man whose federal death sentence for killing two bank employees was commuted to life in prison by President Joe Biden COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A local prosecutor in South Carolina said Tuesday he will seek the death penalty against a man whose federal death sentence for killing two bank employees in a robbery was commuted to life in prison by President Joe Biden at the end of his term. Brandon Council, 40, did not appear in state court in Horry County as prosecutors formally let the court know that if he is convicted of murder they will ask a jury to sentence him to death.

NEW YORK – Luigi Mangione’s lawyers urged a federal judge in New York on Sept 20 to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty for their client, who is charged with killing UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson. In a court filing, Mangione’s lawyers argued that US Justice Department officials should be precluded from seeking the death penalty because of actions that had violated his due process rights. They said these included “staging a dehumanising, unconstitutional ‘perp walk’ where he was televised, videotaped and photographed clambering out of a helicopter in shackles on his way to his initial appearance”.

A federal judge on Thursday declined to dismiss capital firearms charges against a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people in Buffalo in 2022.  Federal attorneys for Payton Gendron, 22, had argued that the 10 firearms offenses should be dismissed for lack of a legal basis, or failure to state an offense.  Gendron's public defenders contended the charges should have been dropped because a person can violate the Hate Crimes Act in ways that do not require use of force, including an act of self-harm, and as a consequence, a violation of the statute is not categorically a crime of violence. 

Mass murderer Dylann Roof’s effort to remove the federal judge who presided over his trial from future steps in his appeal has been rejected. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals said Aug. 13 it would not force the recusal of U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel in Charleston. Roof is seeking a new trial 10 years after he murdered nine African American parishioners at the historic Emanuel AME Church. Roof’s appeal is based on his attorney’s admission that he made several mistakes during the trial, including eliciting harmful testimony.

Justice Dep't prosecutors rebuffed Pima County Attorney's Office as they pursued 5-count indictment A Mexican man accused in a fatal carjacking was indicted on five counts by a federal grand jury Wednesday, including two that could result in life in prison or the death penalty. The case is at the center of a clash between the Pima County Attorney's Office and federal prosecutors. The federal charges of attempted carjacking resulting in death and use of a firearm during a crime of violence resulting in death are the most serious federal charges against Julio Cesar Aguirre, 42, who was in the country without authorization when he allegedly shot and killed a 69-year-old-man during an attempted carjacking on June 30.

Two of the six federal counts can carry the death penalty, something federal prosecutors have not sought in a Minnesota-based case since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976 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 1911, and the state's last execution was a botched hanging in 1906. But federal prosecutors announced charges against Vance Boelter on Monday that can carry the death penalty.