Apr. 12—A Hennepin County juvenile murder case is at the center of a power struggle between the Hennepin County attorney and the Minnesota attorney general, but the public interest should be paramount here.

And there is high public interest in a juvenile defendant getting a plea deal and minimal sentence for putting five bullets into the body of a young mother, albeit with an ex-boyfriend who instigated a break-in. Newly elected Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty was in the process of offering a plea deal to teenage brothers in exchange for their testimony against Erick Haynes, 22, the former boyfriend of victim Zaria McKeever.

She was gunned down by the 15-year old brother of John Kamara, 17. Juveniles 16 and under are not named in Minnesota unless they are charged as adults. John Kamara took the deal, which amounted to two years in a juvenile detention facility, and probation, if violated, would lead to a 12-year prison sentence. The younger brother had not yet agreed to the deal, and now his hearing has been delayed with the intervention of Attorney General Keith Ellison.

In a meeting with the victim's family Ellison said the plea deal was "not appropriate" for this crime. He then asked for Gov. Tim Walz's permission to take over the case and Walz agreed, saying he has confidence that Ellison will bring justice and a "modicum of peace to the grieving family."

Moriarty had been on a path to charge both teenagers in adult court, but changed course seemingly at the last minute when she offered the plea deals. She argued that the best chance for rehabilitation for the young shooter would be in the juvenile facility, and that a prison term would only make him more of a danger to society when he gets out.

We can empathize with efforts to prevent juvenile crime perpetrators from getting worse, but this is not the case to make that point or go that route. This was a horrifying, egregious murder of a young mother with her one-year old left behind.

And while the plea deal also would have the shooter getting an adult prison sentence should he violate probation, a light sentence and probation is just not right.

Moriarty responded to Walz and Ellison with unwarranted vitriol, saying they are somehow taking aim at democracy itself and compared them to situations in Florida and Missouri where governors sought to have prosecutors removed, according to a report in the Star Tribune. Walz noted at a later appearance he has the statutory authority to make the change.

We agree with Walz and Ellison. This case must be handled by the attorney general's office, which has an impressive track record handling the George Floyd murder case and the shooting death case of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.

Moriarty continues to claim she is making the decisions and doing the job she was elected by the public to do. The Minnesota County Attorney's Association backed her, saying the decision undermines county attorney's authority. But she doesn't appear to listening to the public or the victims, and the county attorney group said it knows the governor and the attorney general have the last word on this by law.

The attorney general's prosecution will serve the public's right to see justice served, as Ellison said, with "both accountability and mercy."