El Paso Shooter Offered Plea Deal to Avoid Death Penalty

Patrick Crusius, responsible for the 2019 El Paso Walmart mass shooting, has been offered a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. He previously received 90 life sentences for federal hate crimes. The deal indicates a major shift in his legal proceedings amid previous federal and ongoing state charges.

In a significant development in one of the United States' deadliest mass shooting cases, El Paso County district attorney James Montoya announced an offered plea deal to Patrick Crusius, the gunman responsible for the 2019 El Paso Walmart attack. The deal could allow Crusius to avoid the death penalty, a notable shift in the legal proceedings.

Crusius, 26, has already been sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to federal hate crime charges earlier in 2023. This plea deal reflects a continuation of the approach taken during the previous Joe Biden administration when federal prosecutors decided against pursuing the death penalty.

Alongside federal charges, Crusius faces state-level accusations, including capital murder of multiple people and numerous counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The plea deal, if accepted, could mark a new phase in resolving the case of this tragic 2019 event.

(With inputs from agencies.)