MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty expressed her frustration Friday with Governor Tim Walz's decision to hand a juvenile murder case over to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
The case is centered around the killing of Zaria McKeever, who prosecutors say was shot to death in her apartment last November by a 15-year-old. The teen's 17-year-old brother was also allegedly present and kicked down the door to the apartment.
McKeever's ex-boyfriend Erick Haynes is charged with murder and accused of giving the teenagers the gun and driving them to McKeever's house to carry out the shooting.
Speaking at the Hennepin County Courthouse, Moriarty issued a scathing rebuttal to Walz and Ellison's decision, calling the move "undemocratic."
“They may disagree with my decision in this case and it was a terribly difficult decision. They are entitled to their opinion but their actions here show that they also don’t really believe fully in democracy because they are stopping me from doing the job voters elected me to do," Moriarty said to a crowd that included members of the media and McKeever's family. "That is unacceptable. They have set a very dangerous precedent."
Moriarty was elected in November and ran on a platform of public safety reform, where she promised to seek fewer adult certifications for teens. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office has been under fire for weeks after offering a plea deal to the two teenage suspects in exchange for their testimony against Haynes.
The deal would have the teens complete a two-year rehabilitation program at the juvenile prison in Red Wing and be released under supervision with a suspended prison sentence held over their heads until they turn 21. Prior to Moriarty taking office, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was pursuing adult certification for the teens.
Friday, McKeever's family pushed Moriarty to explain why both teenagers were offered the same deal when only one is accused of pulling the trigger.
Moriarty argued that by sending the alleged 15-year-old shooter to adult prison, he would be more likely to recommit crimes once released as a 30-plus-year-old. She contended that based on research, the conditions of the current deal are more likely to prevent further criminal behavior.
McKeever's family had previously requested that AG Ellison take the case from Moriarty.
“I have absolute confidence in Attorney General Ellison,” Governor Walz said in a statement Thursday. “He has requested this important case and stepped up once again to serve the people of Minnesota. I know Keith will work tirelessly to seek justice and bring a modicum of peace to the grieving family.”
Moriarty compared Walz and Ellison, both Democrats, to Republicans Scott Jensen and Jim Schultz, who ran for governor and attorney general, respectively, last fall.
"This governor and this attorney general are doing exactly precisely what their opponents in the last election promised they would do... I am keeping a promise. They are not.”
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