Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton during a Legislative Management committee meeting on August 17, 2026. (North Dakota Legislative Branch)
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO) – A controversial proposal urging presidential clemency for two men serving life sentences for their roles in a deadly 1983 shootout failed to advance Monday after North Dakota lawmakers declined to advance it to an upcoming special legislative session.
Resolution Draft 25.3121.02000, sponsored by State Sen. Jeffery Magrum, R-Hazelton, formally requested that the Legislature urge President Donald Trump to grant executive clemency to Scott Faul, 73, and Yorie Kahl, 66. Both men have served over 43 years in federal custody following an ambush near Medina, North Dakota, that left Deputy U.S. Marshals Kenneth Muir and Robert Cheshire dead.
Magrum presented the measure to the Legislative Management committee on Monday, arguing that the aging men have served their debt to society and face deteriorating health.
“The only conclusion I can come up with is they’re political prisoners,” Magrum told committee members, asserting that repeated parole denials created a “cruel and unusual” situation.
The proposal drew fierce condemnation. Prior to the meeting, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley urged Magrum to withdraw the draft, characterizing Faul and Kahl as “unrepentant cop-killers.”
During testimony, Rep. Zachary Ista, D-Grand Forks, delivered a sharp rebuke, calling the presentation “deeply, deeply offensive” and an insult to the state’s law enforcement community.
Ista attempted to force an immediate procedural vote against the measure, but committee Chairman Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, ruled the motion out of order, adhering to the panel’s schedule to hear all proposals before voting.
When Legislative Management met Monday afternoon to decide which measures to advance to the full Legislative Assembly, no committee member moved to bring Magrum’s resolution forward for a vote. Without a motion, the resolution was effectively sidelined, preventing its consideration during the special session beginning Sept. 2.
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