Walmart shooter who killed 23 in Texas can avoid death penalty in a plea deal

By Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) - Prosecutors said on Tuesday they have withdrawn the death penalty for the man who shot dead 23 people and wounded 22 others in an attack aimed at Latinos at a Texas Walmart in 2019, enabling him to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence.

El Paso District Attorney James Montoya told a press conference he extended the plea deal after meeting with relatives of the victims, most of whom wanted to end the case as soon as possible, he said.

Instead of facing death by lethal injection, shooter Patrick Crusius can agree to a life sentence without the possibility of parole in a hearing scheduled for April 21.

Texas has executed 593 prisoners since 1982, the most of any state, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Crusius, now 26, had previously pleaded guilty to a 90-count federal indictment for hate crimes and weapon offenses in relation to the assault on August 3, 2019, at a Walmart in the border city of El Paso. He was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms.

Crusius admitted he targeted people because of their Hispanic origin and that he intended to kill everyone he shot, federal prosecutors said. A defense lawyer told the federal court he was driven to the shooting by mental illness.

Montoya, the fourth district attorney to oversee the state prosecution, said he believed in the death penalty, but the case faced continual delays before he took office in January.

"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 in a statement.

Montoya said he met with the families before deciding how to proceed and a "strong consensus" favored a rapid conclusion, even if that meant dropping the death penalty.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Daniel Wallis)