It’s legal: Prison inmate vying for US Senate in Minnesota

Published 7:22 am Monday, July 16, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS — A prison inmate serving a life term for two murders is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota. And it’s legal.

Minnesota law bars inmates from running for state-level offices, but they can run for federal office. Leonard Richards is keenly aware of the loophole, and he’s unsuccessfully sought federal office several times despite serving a prison sentence that offers no parole, the Star Tribune reported.

Richards, 75, was convicted of killing his half-sister, May Wilson, in 1982, and of fatally shooting his lawyer, Robert Stratton, in 1987. Stratton’s sister said the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office told her it couldn’t keep Richards off the ballot.

Email newsletter signup