Patrick Crusius was sentenced to life in prison for killing 23 people in the racially motivated attack
Patrick Crusius, the white supremacist who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019, pleaded guilty to capital murder charges in a Texas state district court on Monday, April 21, The Associated Press reports.
Along with the plea, Crusius was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He agreed to change his plea from not guilty to guilty after prosecutors said they would no longer seek the death penalty.
In 2023, Crusius pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the same case, also after prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty. He pleaded guilty to 90 charges, including 45 hate crimes, and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in prison.
Crusius was 21 years old when he left his home near Dallas and drove nearly 700 miles to El Paso on Aug. 3, 2019. Shortly before he opened fire at the Walmart, Crusius posted a racist screed online, in which he said the shooting was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
In a statement issued last month, El Paso District Attorney James Montoya said the decision to drop the death penalty was part of an effort to finally bring Crusius’ drawn-out case to a close. Montoya is the fourth El Paso DA to oversee the case, which has been delayed by everything from the Covid-19 pandemic to forced resignations and allegations of misconduct.
“This is about allowing the families of the 23 victims who lost their lives on that horrific day — and the 22 wounded — to finally have resolution in our court system,” Montoya said at the time. “Continual delays due to the handling of this case before I arrived in office have left them in limbo. Now, no one in this community will ever have to hear the perpetrator’s name ever again. No more hearings. No more appeals. He will die in prison.”
Joe Spencer, a defense attorney for Crusius in both his state and federal cases, said the deal brought “judicial finality” to the case. “He brought violence and terror to a place of peace,” Spencer continued. “He shattered lives and forever changed the landscape of El Paso. … We offer our deepest condolences.”
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