El Paso Walmart Shooter to Receive Life Sentence

Patrick Crusius, who killed 23 people in a 2019 racist attack at an El Paso Walmart, is expected to plead guilty to capital murder and receive a life sentence without parole, ending a lengthy legal process. Crusius had already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms in federal court after pleading guilty to hate crime and weapons charges. Both federal and state prosecutors, under the Biden administration, removed the death penalty from consideration as part of the plea agreements. The plea deal is designed to spare victims’ families the trauma of a lengthy trial, which could have lasted years. Crusius targeted Hispanic shoppers after driving over 10 hours from Dallas and publishing a racist manifesto online prior to the shooting. The attack has had a lasting impact on the El Paso community and the national conversation on hate crimes and gun violence.