A recent downward departure in the sentencing of a mass shooting defendant in Minneapolis, illustrates how woefully inadequate our criminal justice system is at following through with meaningful terms of incapacitation.
The backdrop
In the summer of 2023 Minneapolis was coming off three years of significant increases in violent crime, and things weren’t looking good for a sustained turnaround.
The city’s police department was operating with 60% of the officers it had employed just four years earlier, and the City Council was more interested in “alternatives to policing” than filling those critical vacancies. At the same time Minnesota’s Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) led legislature passed a torrent of progressive public safety bills that did little to address our inconsequential criminal justice system.
With this as a backdrop, South Minneapolis experienced three unrelated mass shootings over a 15-day period in August 2023. The brazenness of these shootings made it clear the shooters had little fear of being caught or facing consequences.
Case in point
The first of those shootings happened on August 11th. Seven people attending a backyard concert were shot by two gunman who boldly opened fire on the crowd before jogging away. One man was killed and six others seriously injured. After significant investigation, police were successful in getting two Native American juvenile males charged with this shooting – Cyrell Boyd, 17, and Dominic Burris, 17.
“The identification of those believed to be responsible for the terrible events of August 11th is the culmination of the careful, steadfast, and meticulous collaboration between MPD investigators, forensic scientists, federal partners, and prosecutors.”
MPD Chief Brian O’Hara
The Hennepin County Attorney sounded resolute following the shooting, saying:
“Gun violence will not be tolerated in our communities…We are committed to holding those who caused this harm accountable, and to offering, as we already have, our office’s resources to those who have been impacted by this senseless violence.”
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty
But just as it has in so many instances, that resolute statement condemning violence and pledging accountability, faded into oblivion in each of these mass shootings.
In the two mass shootings that occurred on August 20th and 26th respectively, injuring a total of 15 people and killing a 16th, defendants from each case have received sentences of 18 years in prison. Given our current system, those defendants will be eligible for release in about 12 years, putting them back on the street in their early 30’s – for shooting 16 people!
This is accountability?
It is, however, the most recent sentence handed down against Cyrell Boyd for his involvement in the August 11th mass shooting that is a true insult to justice. Boyd whom the court had certified to stand trial as an adult, was charged with seven (7) counts ranging from 2nd degree murder, 1st degree assault, to 2nd degree assault. The 2nd degree murder charged carries a “presumptive prison commitment” of 150 months with no prior criminal history. The 1st degree assault charge carries a “presumptive prison commitment” of 86 months with no priors. The use of a firearm in commission of a crime is supposed to carry with it a mandatory minimum 36th month sentence, but that charge was not even applied.
In the end, earlier this month, Moriarty’s office announced triumphantly that it had “secured a plea deal that requires an eight-year public safety process with significant stayed prison time for Cyrell Boyd.”
Just what does that mean? It’s a good question. It means Boyd, now just shy of 20 years old, will serve the next 14 months in the Red Wing juvenile prison and attend the “loss of life program.” Once he turns 21, he will be released and serve the remaining 5 years of his sentence on probation.
Don’t worry, Moriarty’s resolve returned in the announcement of the sentencing as she declared that “Boyd’s participation in this horrific incident demands accountability to ensure public safety and this process delivers it.”
As for Boyd’s co-defendant, Dominic Burris – he also received a plea deal similar to the other mass shooters and was sentenced to 18 years in prison – i.e. 12 years behind bars and 6 years on probation.
The contrast
By contrast, Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis Police Officer convicted of murder during the arrest of George Floyd, is serving concurrent state and federal prison sentences for 22.5 years and 21 years respectively. Chauvin’s expected release date, having already served 5 years in prison, is about the same time as the three men described above who shot and killed two (2) and injured as many as 21 more during one violent 15 day stretch in South Minneapolis.
