Prof. Amy Sweasy Interviewed by Courthouse News Service and Pioneer Press About State Trial of Vance Boelter

Professor Amy Sweasy was interviewed by Courthouse News Service and the St. Paul Pioneer Press about the state’s reasoning to bring Vance Boelter to trial. In a federal trial against him, Boelter was sentenced to prison two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years for the attacks on two Minnesota lawmakers and their families. Prof. Sweasy said that aside from bringing additional charges, the state’s interest lies in securing a sentence that can’t be presidentially pardoned, unlike federal convictions. She said, “State prosecutors want to insulate against a possible pardon, which would only work if the president were to issue a pardon for some reason against Vance Boelter. It’s hard for me to conceive of what that reason would be, but it’s certainly not impossible. She added, “There’s a very strong state interest in pursuing the charges on behalf of the state of Minnesota, given who the victims were and are to the state.”