By Daniel Trotta

March 25 (Reuters) - Prosecutors said on Tuesday they

have withdrawn the death penalty for the man who shot dead 23

people and wounded 22 others in an attack aimed at Latinos at a

Texas Walmart in 2019, enabling him to plead guilty in exchange

for a life sentence.

El Paso District Attorney James Montoya told a press

conference he extended the plea deal after meeting with

relatives of the victims, most of whom wanted to end the case as

soon as possible, he said.

Instead of facing death by lethal injection, shooter Patrick

Crusius can agree to a life sentence without the possibility of

parole in a hearing scheduled for April 21.

Texas has executed 593 prisoners since 1982, the most of any

state, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Crusius, now 26, had previously pleaded guilty to a 90-count

federal indictment for hate crimes and weapon offenses in

relation to the assault on August 3, 2019, at a Walmart ( WMT ) in the

border city of El Paso. He was sentenced to 90 consecutive life

terms.

Crusius admitted he targeted people because of their

Hispanic origin and that he intended to kill everyone he shot,

federal prosecutors said. A defense lawyer told the federal

court he was driven to the shooting by mental illness.

Montoya, the fourth district attorney to oversee the state

prosecution, said he believed in the death penalty, but the case

faced continual delays before he took office in January.

"This is about allowing the families of the 23 victims who

lost their lives on that horrific day - and the 22 wounded - to

finally have resolution in our court system," Montoya said in a

statement.

Montoya said he met with the families before deciding how to

proceed and a "strong consensus" favored a rapid conclusion,

even if that meant dropping the death penalty.