Expert explains how federal officials will decide whether Vance Boelter will receive the death penalty

NINA MOINI: I'm Nina Moini. You're listening to Minnesota Now. And we thank you for that. Federal prosecutors say it's possible they may seek the death penalty in the case of Vance Boelter, the man charged with killing Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and wounding Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. 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. Joining me to talk about the possibility that Boelter will face the death penalty is Robin Maher, the Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center. Thank you so much for your time this afternoon, Robin.

ROBIN MAHER: Hi, Nina. It's great to be with you today.

NINA MOINI: This is obviously really a difficult topic. And there is so much history there. And that's why we're so happy for your time to put some of this into context. Because people are wondering, what is going to happen? Would you mind starting a little bit about just, what is the Death Penalty Information Center? What do you do?

ROBIN MAHER: Sure, yes. We are a national nonprofit organization. We're not an advocacy organization. So we don't have policy. But we are critical of the way the death penalty has been used around the country. And we do our best to keep up on all of the cases and events, including legislation, to track use of the death penalty and make sure that everyone has the information they need to make good decisions about it.

NINA MOINI: OK. I didn't know that this existed. And I'm really glad that it does. Minnesota does not have the death penalty, like I mentioned. But federal prosecutors filed what's called a notice of special findings in the case last week, which is the first step, I guess, in seeking the death penalty. Could you talk a little bit about how the process works?

ROBIN MAHER: Sure. So the notice of special findings is just an indication that the DOJ is thinking about pursuing a death sentence for Mr. Boelter. It doesn't mean that they have made that decision. So ultimately, the decision will be made by the Attorney General herself. That decision is always made at the very top. But there is a process that's been identified at the DOJ.

It's set out in what's called the Justice Manual. And generally speaking, what's going to happen is that they will be considering all of what they call, aggravating features. Those are the reasons for a death sentence, against mitigation information, which are all the reasons that the death penalty should not be sought.

And for that conversation, they hopefully will be speaking with the defense counsel that are representing Mr. Boelter. They'll need first an opportunity to do an investigation, to learn everything they can about him and his life, and to present that information to the DOJ so that they have everything they need before they make this ultimate decision about whether to seek death.

NINA MOINI: OK. So you mentioned, of course, US Attorney General Pam Bondi, some of, obviously, the defense team. Are there other people involved in the decision?

ROBIN MAHER: Well, this is a very important decision, obviously. I mean, this is not a decision that should ever be made lightly. For one thing, it's going to require a tremendous investment of time and resources, on both sides, on the prosecution side and on the defense side.

So there will be others that will be consulted within the DOJ, that the defense counsel, of course, will have help from its team members to do the kind of investigation that it will need to do in order to tell the life story of their client. So lots and lots of work will need to go into this. It will take quite some time before this case will be ready to go for trial.

NINA MOINI: OK. And so, again, for our listeners, some context that, under the Biden administration, the previous administration, there was a moratorium on federal executions. That was lifted then by the Trump administration. Do you think that the Trump administration's stance on the death penalty would make an impact?

ROBIN MAHER: Well, the Trump administration's perspective on use of the death penalty is very different from the previous administration. We know that, under the prior Trump administration, we had a number of federal executions. In just six months, 13 people were executed, 12 men and one woman. And President Trump has really made no secret of his enthusiasm for the death penalty.

And some of that, I think, has been picked up around the country by other elected officials, but most especially by his Attorney General, Pam Bondi. She has set out a number of memoranda that indicate that the death penalty should be sought in appropriate cases. And already, we know that she is going to be looking at many more cases than the previous administration has.

NINA MOINI: I don't know if you can say, or if you even have an opinion on this yet. But do you think overall that it is likely that this will become a death penalty sentence?

ROBIN MAHER: Well, there's a few things there in that question. And it's a good one. First of all, whether Attorney General Bondi decides to seek the death penalty is an unknown question. As I said, I hope that they will take the time they need to first meet with defense counsel and learn what they learn about this case and this individual. Remember that the death penalty is not just for the worst crimes. It's for the individual defendant who is most deserving of this incredibly severe sanction. So I hope they will be thoughtful before they make this decision.

But then the second part of your question is really the interesting part, which is, if they decide to seek a death sentence, would a Minnesota jury return a death sentence? And what we've seen in other places around the country, places like Minnesota that have abolished the death penalty locally, that sometimes it's very difficult for a local jury to agree that a death sentence is the right answer, even when there are terrible crimes.

A more recent example of this was up in New York. You might remember Mr. Saipov. He was an individual who drove his truck down a bike path and killed a number of people in a terrorism incident. The federal government sought a death sentence there. But a New York jury could not agree to sentence him to death. So he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

So it's a very good question, whether a Minnesota jury, which will have to be death-qualified, meaning they will have to agree that they would be willing to give him a death sentence if seated on the jury. A good question about whether that that jury could agree that a death sentence is the right answer here.

NINA MOINI: And because I think people might not know all the differences between the state level case, the federal level case. Even the federal level case would have a jury of Minnesotans, right? But would you talk a little bit about how this federal case, and perhaps seeking the death penalty would impact the state case?

ROBIN MAHER: Well, that's a great question, too. We don't really understand what's been happening between the feds and the state negotiations about who is going to go first. Ordinarily, those are agreements that are worked out pretty colloquially. It doesn't sound as if there's agreement about who is going to prosecute Mr. Boelter first.

The feds certainly seem to be interested in going first. So that would leave the state charges to be made second, and that trial taking place after the federal trial. It's complicated to talk about these many different levels of prosecution.

But it is true that, in the past, very rarely, that both jurisdictions have pursued the same charges against a single individual, some even getting both a state death penalty conviction and a federal death penalty conviction, which is rare and certainly won't happen here in Minnesota.

NINA MOINI: Such good context, Robin. Thank you. I just have one more question. Does the victims' families or the surviving victims, do they get a say in something like this?

ROBIN MAHER: Yeah, they absolutely do. And this is part of what's in the Justice Manual. The prosecutors at DOJ will be speaking with the family. They will be speaking to them about what they would like to see happen. And what we know from the work that we've been doing around the country is that not all victims' families feel the same way about the death penalty.

NINA MOINI: Sure.

ROBIN MAHER: Many victims' families would rather not pursue a death sentence, or have the death sentence pursued because it will bring them closure faster. And they won't need to have the uncertainty that will continue through a number of years of appeals that would follow a death sentence.

NINA MOINI: So interesting on a difficult topic. Really appreciate your time, Robin.

ROBIN MAHER: My pleasure.

NINA MOINI: Thank you. That was Robin Maher, the Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center.