University of St. Thomas School of Law Professor Mark Osler spoke to WCCO-TV about the possibility of the death penalty being used in Minnesota. A 114-year-old ban still holds; however, recent crimes have raised questions about federal prosecutors pursuing the punishment in Minnesota.
From the story:
The high-profile assassination of a top Minnesota lawmaker and her husband could bring about a form of punishment long banned in the state.
With federal prosecutors involved, we wanted to know: How could the death penalty happen in Minnesota?
State and federal law enforcement worked together to catch Vance Boelter. The capture happened less than 48 hours after investigators said he shot Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, then killed House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
That cooperation between the two entities, however, isn’t as clear when it comes to state and federal prosecutors hoping to bring the accused killer to justice.
Who has jurisdiction in the case: state or federal?
“Well, they both do. And that’s part of where the tension comes in,” said Mark Osler, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas.
“Often there’s an agreement between the state and the feds over how that’s going to play out,” said Osler. “We’ll see if they come to such an agreement here.”
