Dallas : A federal judge on Friday sentenced a white supremacist to 90 consecutive life terms in prison for a 2019 shooting in which he killed 23 people and wounded 22 others at a Texas Walmart while targeting Hispanics, according to court records and prosecutors.
The sentencing by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama in El Paso adhered to a plea agreement from February in which shooter Patrick Crusius, 24, pleaded guilty to and agreed to 90 consecutive life sentences with no possibility of parole to avoid the federal death penalty. He still faces Texas state charges that could result in the death penalty.
Crusius did not speak in court. His attorney Joe Spencer made a statement for him in which he said the shooter suffered from mental illness which drove him to carry out the shooting, according to the Texas Tribune newspaper. Prosecutors rebutted that and said Crusius knew what he was doing when he carried out the massacre.
Margaret Leachman, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas that prosecuted the case, said in a written statement that she hopes the victims’ families find “some finality and peace” with the sentencing.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas will continue to aggressively prosecute those who commit violence because of bias or hate, seeking justice in the names of the victims and their loved ones,” Leachman said.
