US no longer seeking death for man convicted in Sjodin case
Associated PressU.S. prosecutors said Tuesday that they will no longer seek the death penalty for a Minnesota man already on death row but awaiting resentencing for the kidnapping and killing of college student Dru Sjodin in 2003 — a case that led to changes in sex offender registration laws. The Justice Department has faced criticism from death penalty opponents for pursuing the death penalty despite President Joe’s Biden’s state opposition to capital punishment. Many were surprised that Biden’s Justice Department continued to pursue the death penalty for Sayfullo Saipov — first authorized during Trump’s presidency — given Biden’s opposition to capital punishment. In January, the Justice Department announced it would not seek the death penalty for Patrick Crusius in a 2019 racist attack at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart that left nearly two dozen people dead.