The accused shooter behind the 2019 massacre at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart will not face death penalty in the federal case, a court filing suggests.
In a court document filed Tuesday at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in El Paso, federal prosecutors said they “will not seek the death penalty” against Patrick Crusius, who has yet to stand trial more than three years after the shoot up that left 23 people killed and dozens more wounded.
The prosecutors didn’t explain in the document why they won’t to seek the death penalty against Crusius, although he also faces state charges in Texas, which can result in execution depending on the outcome.
Crusius, now 24 years old, is accused of driving 11 hours from his hometown in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas, to commit the killings. Prosecutors said he deliberately picked a Mexican-American-majority community and targeted people of Mexican heritage during the attack, citing an manifesto he allegedly posted online describing his actions as “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
According to Tuesday’s filing, Crusius is facing a total of 90 counts of federal charges, including 22 counts of hate crime resulting in death, 22 counts of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, 23 counts of hate crime with involving attempt to kill, and 23 counts of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Crusius has pleaded not guilty to both federal and state charges.
Yvonne Rosales, the Democratic district attorney who had been leading the state case against Crusius, resigned in November 2022 over accusations of incompetence and misconduct. She was succeeded by Bill Hicks, the first Republican to serve as the attorney for that district, which covers El Paso.
In press conference about the future of the Crusius case, Hicks said that the suspect has to be released from federal custody before the state’s trial can proceed.
“The defendant is in federal custody, so the state is not able to prosecute the Walmart shooter until he gets out of federal custody and we’re able to get him back into state custody. Until that happens we’re not able to go forward with our prosecution,” he told local media.
“The state of Texas will continue to evaluate the situation, the impact of today’s decision in the federal government and once we have had the opportunity to evaluate all of the issues that may arise from that then we may have another announcement later on.”
The federal trial is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2024.
