Bid for a shortened sentence in Duluth triple murder denied by Board of Pardons

A Proctor man who fatally shot three young men at a house party in 1994 was denied in his bid to knock 20 years off his prison sentence by the Minnesota Board of Pardons.

Todd Michael Warren, 48, applied to have his sentence commuted last summer, saying that he has spent his decadeslong prison stay learning vocational skills, thriving as a writer, and working through a restorative justice program.

Warren, in addressing the board Tuesday, described his crimes as "heinous." He decided long ago to work on himself, rather then letting guilt and shame "swallow him whole," he told Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson — the three-member board charged with deciding his fate.

"I've truly grown in mind, body and spirit," Warren said via Zoom from the state prison in Moose Lake, Minn. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

The board heard Warren's arguments — and those of the victims' families against any leniency — for about 90 minutes, After a discussion weighing both sides, the board was unanimous in denying the appeal. Under a recent law change, two of the three must vote in favor of clemency for applicants to be pardoned or receive commutation; previously the vote had to be unanimous. Warren will be eligible to try again in five years.

"The sentence you want us to commute is already lenient," Hudson said.

Warren showed little emotion at the response, but some of the victims' families clapped.

Warren's family did not have a public comment.

Warren was a senior at Proctor High School in March 1994 when he and his friends stopped at a party in Duluth's East Hillside neighborhood. Believing that men at the party had raped his girlfriend and her friend, he drove more than 20 miles to his family's home, got a revolver and returned to the party. He fatally shot Samuel Witherspoon, 21, Keith Hermanson, 20, and Peter Moore, 20 — and fired off the rest of the round on his way to an upstairs bedroom.

Warren left the party, but was soon arrested.

Warren was convicted on three counts of premeditated murder in St. Louis County District Court in 1995. He has served nearly 30 years, and had asked the board to be eligible for parole in March 2024 rather than serving two more consecutive 10-year sentences.

He said that he is no longer an impulsive, quick-tempered kid, and that he has been humbled and has learned empathy.

"The Department of Corrections can transform lives if you are open to the task," Warren said.

It is uncommon for the board to pardon or commute a sentence — and Warren's bid was no different. The board seemed swayed by the victims' families, whose emotions remain raw. Some appeared via Zoom to ask the board to deny Warren's application.

Michelle Moore, an artist whose son Peter was killed, offered a recording of spoken word poetry backed by jazz music.

Sharon Witherspoon said that her son Sam's murder forever changed her; revisiting it recently has caused health problems.

Roy Hermanson held a framed photograph of his only son, Keith, as he spoke. Warren's apology, delivered at the start of the session, was the first Hermanson had ever heard, he said. He said that Warren had tallied "a big bill" — one he has to pay.

"I don't care if he's Mother Teresa," he said. "You have to pay."

He paused and covered his face with his hands.

"I apologize," he said of his tears. "This happens now and then when I talk about this."