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pleaded not guilty on Thursday to federal charges

The federal charges aren’t for murder, but for hate crimes. The state will be prosecuting him for murder. He apparently can face the death penalty in both sets of crimes. Also, he loses nothing by pleading not guilty. Perhaps he/his lawyer thinks that some kind of deal can be struck that lets him avoid which should be his fate.

I watch a lot of British murder mysteries. The ones set before the 60s always had the specter of the hangman standing by if someone was convicted of murder. In fact, it seemed that few who were found guilty were allowed to escape the noose within months of sentence.

The idea that someone can murder one or several people and get a life sentence or a death sentence carried out decades later, just seems wrong.