Overview

• The board voted 2–1 to commute Pippitt’s sentence, with Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison in favor and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson opposed.
• The decision allows release in the coming months without vacating the conviction, with any determination of guilt or innocence left to the courts.
• The Attorney General’s Conviction Review Unit urged vacating the case after finding the original theory implausible and overlooked exculpatory evidence, marking its first full-exoneration recommendation and one of only three relief recommendations among more than 1,200 applications.
• Aitkin County Sheriff Dan Guida criticized the process and the CRU’s investigation as one-sided and political.
• Supporters cited Pippitt’s age, health, good behavior, and longer time served than codefendants, while his legal team plans to pursue exoneration and his family expects him to move to Onamia to care for his father.