Crime, Law and Justice

Expert explains how federal officials will decide whether Vance Boelter will receive the death penalty
It’s been more than 100 years since Minnesota’s last state execution. The state abolished capital punishment in 1911. Federal prosecutors have not sought the death penalty in a Minnesota-based case since the Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976.
Bloomington Police said 40 vehicles were damaged in two hotel parking lots, and officials in Minneapolis said they responded to reports that more than 70 vehicles were vandalized.
Lawsuit challenges restrictions on Head Start for kids in the U.S. illegally
A coalition of 21 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the Trump administration’s restrictions on social services for immigrants in the country illegally, including the federal preschool program Head Start, health clinics and adult education.
Appeals court says Locke family's wrongful death lawsuit against officer can move forward
Amir Locke was sleeping on his cousin’s couch in Minneapolis on the morning of Feb. 2, 2022, when a SWAT team burst into the room. Locke, who was not the person officers were looking for and was holding a firearm, was fatally shot by officer Mark Hanneman about eight seconds after police entered, according to the complaint. 
Nicole Mitchell to resign from Minnesota Senate after burglary conviction
Nicole Mitchell will resign her seat in the Minnesota Senate following her Friday conviction on two burglary charges. The resignation will take effect in early August.
Sen. Nicole Mitchell guilty of two counts of burglary after multi-day trial
A jury found state Sen. Nicole Mitchell guilty of two felony burglary charges for breaking into her stepmother’s home in April of 2024. The conviction could cost the DFL control of the Minnesota Senate.
Turning pain into progress: The Groundbreak Coalition’s work to close the racial wealth gap
MPR News host Angela Davis talks with the Minnesota leaders behind the Groundbreak Coalition — a multibillion-dollar plan to close the racial wealth gap by rethinking how we invest in homes, businesses, and communities. 
Nicole Mitchell testifies, insisting she went into stepmother’s home only for a welfare check
State Sen. Nicole Mitchell testified in her own defense as her criminal trial continued Thursday. She told jurors she broke into her stepmother’s home in April of last year out of concern for Carol Mitchell’s health, contradicting body cam video of her saying she wanted to retrieve some of her late father’s belongings.
FBI raids 5 Twin Cities businesses in Medicaid fraud probe
FBI agents raided five Twin Cities businesses and two homes Wednesday as part of an investigation into Medicaid housing assistance fraud. Twenty-two purported providers collectively billed taxpayers $8 million over 17 months and used fake documentation to back their claims, the FBI alleges.