ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico man accused of kidnapping and murdering several Native American men now faces the death penalty.
It comes after the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico announced the decision to seek capital punishment against Labar Tsethlikai. KRQE News 13 spoke with a former United States Attorney about what elements of a federal case raise a case to that level.
“The death penalty is the most severe penalty you can give in the criminal justice system,” said Damon Martinez, a former U.S. Attorney.
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Unlike convictions that lead to jail time, seeking the death penalty is used for the most violent crimes, which often include aggravating factors, like torture. Other reasons a U.S. Attorney could seek the penalty are for the murder of a federal official, drug trafficking resulting in death, and kidnapping resulting in death. A U.S. Attorney is responsible for gathering information for cases and making recommendations to the United States Attorney General. If approved, the defendant is given a notice.
“You have to have the Attorney General of the United States sign off on that and want to seek the death penalty,” Martinez said.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, Attorney General Pam Bondi authorized attorneys in June to move forward with the penalty in Tsethlikai’s case. He’s charged with numerous counts of murder, kidnapping, and assault against vulnerable Native American men. If the case eventually goes to trial, jurors decide what happens next.
“You have to have a unanimous conviction by all jury members that they also agree that the death penalty should be imposed,” Martinez said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico says that the penalty has never been carried out at the federal level in New Mexico. Most sentences include years of prison time or life in prison.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
