By Jared Gudnason 

Writer/Reporter

The primary reason the assassin, full of cowardice, who herein shall remain nameless, avoided the federal death penalty for the murders of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, was that he pleaded guilty. Had the perpetrator pleaded not guilty, he still would have been tried capitally and, when unavoidably convicted, would have been the first Minnesota case sent to federal death row in U.S. history. Current inmates include the Charleston, S.C., church shooter, the Boston Marathon bomber, and the Pittsburgh, Pa., synagogue shooter.

According to Pioneer Press reporter Nick Ferraro, had the suspect succeeded in killing all four targets, which included Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, both of whom have since recovered, his goal was to ensure that “by killing four state legislators, the inevitable result would be a shift in the balance of power in both legislative houses.” Corroborating evidence was gathered from a data wipe of the perpetrator’s phone. Out of concern for public safety, because there was browsing history evidence for the layout of the “No Kings” rally, which was scheduled for the day of the attacks, it was understandably rescheduled. The suspect led authorities on an approximately 17-hour manhunt and was apprehended in Green Isle, Minn., at 9:15 p.m.

What is bizarre about these murders is that the perpetrator apologized to the victims’ families. In my very humble opinion, everyone has a breaking point. The assassin, 10 years earlier, had been appointed as a private-sector representative by then-Gov. Mark Dayton, ironically enough. The killer’s now ex-wife, who retains sole custody of their child, who is still a minor, said she was “heartbroken” and that the killer had “betrayed” his theological beliefs. The grandfather of the Hortmans expressed a feeling of being robbed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche because of the federal offer of two life sentences instead of capital punishment as part of the perpetrator’s plea bargain.