There is no way that convicted murderers Yorie Kahl and Scott Faul should be released from prison now. The idea is a miscarriage of justice, an insensitive insult to their victims and law enforcement, and ignores the merits of the case.
Jim Shaw interviews Yorie Kahl in 1993 at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Courtesy WDAY-TV
The two of them were found guilty of second-degree murder after a three-week trial at Fargo Federal Court. They are serving life sentences with the chance for parole for murdering U.S. Marshal Ken Muir and Deputy Marshal Robert Cheshire, while wounding three other federal and local law enforcement officers. It happened 43 years ago in what became known as the Medina Shootout.
Republican North Dakota Senator Jeff Magrum of Hazelton, shamefully introduced a resolution to the North Dakota Legislature that would urge President Trump to grant clemency to Kahl and Faul.
Scott Faul / Courtesy of U.S. Marshals Service
I know this case extremely well. When I was reporting for WDAY-TV, I covered the shootings, the extensive search for Gordon Kahl (Yorie’s father), the trial of Yorie Kahl and Scott Faul, and the funeral of Gordon Kahl, who died in another shootout with a law enforcement officer, this time in Arkansas.
On the 10th anniversary of the shootout, I conducted an exclusive interview with Yorie at the federal prison in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Three years ago, I wrote a three-part series on the shootout for the Forum, which took me a year to research and write.
Here are some basic facts to put Magrum’s appalling proposal in perspective.
In 1967, Gordon Kahl, then living in Texas, stopped paying federal income taxes. In 1977, he was convicted of tax evasion. Gordon Kahl was sentenced to two years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
Kahl was released from prison after eight months, but was put on supervised probation for five years. However, he failed to check in with his probation officer and the courts. He also continued to refuse to pay his federal income tax. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Gordon Kahl moved back to North Dakota in the early 1980s, where he remained active in the anti-federal government movement.
On February 13, 1983, four U.S. Marshals, coming from Fargo and Bismarck, set out to arrest Kahl in Medina. They were joined by two local law enforcement officers. They set up a roadblock, and that’s when things turned horribly wrong.
Deputy Marshal Robert Cheshire. Courtesy of U.S. Marshals Service.
Gordon Kahl, Yorie Kahl, and Scott Faul got out of their cars with their rifles and aimed them at the law enforcement officers. The officers pointed their weapons at Gordon, Yorie and Scott.
The marshals said they had an arrest warrant for Gordon Kahl, and called on the three of them to drop their weapons. Instead, there was a standoff for nine minutes, with both sides pointing their firearms at each other.
Suddenly, there was a shot. Deputy Marshal Cheshire was hit in the chest and went down. Evidence shows that Yorie Kahl fired that shot. Over the next 30 seconds, there was a barrage of gunfire that came from all directions. Faul fired at least six shots, while Gordon Kahl fired dozens.
Marshal Ken Muir and family / Courtesy of Muir family
Muir was shot in the chest and immediately died.
Deputy Marshal James Hopson was shot in the brain and ear, and went to the ground with his severe wounds. Stutsman County Deputy Brad Kapp and Medina Police Officer Steve Schnabel were also shot. In addition, Yorie Kahl was shot in the chest and abdomen.
Gordon Kahl then headed toward Cheshire, who was badly wounded and lying on the ground. Gordon Kahl then executed Cheshire by shooting him twice in the head at point-blank range.
Yes, the marshals severely underestimated what they were getting into and made some tactical mistakes, but that is no reason for Yorie Kahl and Scott Faul to be released. The fact is, the marshals were just doing their jobs. They had a legitimate warrant for Gordon Kahl’s arrest.
There was no need for any shooting. Gordon Kahl should have peacefully gone with the marshals. Better yet, he should have paid his taxes and obeyed the terms of his probation.
It’s clear that Gordon Kahl, Yorie Kahl and Scott Faul all inexcusably fired at the officers, which resulted in the carnage.
Over the years, Yorie Kahl and Scott Faul have repeatedly been turned down for parole. That’s because they have refused to acknowledge what they did or express any remorse.
Scott Faul letter from prison to Jim Shaw
Scott Faul letter from prison to Jim Shaw
In my interview with him in prison, Yorie Kahl told me, “We were assaulted with deadly force, and we were defending ourselves. We weren’t criminals. It was a necessary thing to do.”
In a letter that Faul wrote to me four years ago he said, “Having covered that charade in 1983, you surprise me…I never had a trial…You should be ashamed of yourself…You will have to publicly apologize, stating that you now know that the convictions were wrong, you are sorry for your part in that.”
There will be no apology coming from me.
Former North Dakota U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider argued against Faul’s release and got it right three years ago when he told me, “Mr. Faul is not a changed man. He is at exactly the same point he was 40 years ago. He is dangerous and likely to commit a crime, just like he did on February 13, 1983.”
We should listen closely to what the families of the victims say.
Deputy Marshal James Hopson and his wife Doris in about 1980, before the Medina Shootout. Courtesy of the Hopson family.
Richard Muir is the son of murdered marshal Ken Muir. “He’s (Scott Faul) still brainwashed from Gordon Kahl,” Muir told me. “He has not shown any remorse for his awful crimes. He has no respect for the U.S. government. He should be in prison forever.”
Joan Kowalski is the daughter of former Deputy Marshal James Hopson, who was shot in the head and ear, suffered major brain injuries, couldn’t talk, and could barely walk, hear, or see.
Former Stutsman County Deputy Brad Kapp. Courtesy of Brad Kapp.
“I will never make peace with that day. It took my dad,” Kowalski told me. “For him to have to live in pure Hell, I can never forgive the shooters or forget what they took from all of us.”
And we should listen closely to what the surviving law enforcement officers at the Medina Shootout have said.
Former Stutsman County Deputy Brad Kapp was shot four times. He was hit in the hand, chin, chest, and above the left eye.
“I’m still angry at Gordon Kahl and the other shooters,” Kapp told me. “It didn’t need to come to this. Nobody likes taxes, but you shouldn’t shoot people over it…The marshals were just doing their job. Those marshals that were killed or shot were the true heroes that day.”
Deputy Marshal Carl Wigglesworth. Courtesy of WDAY-TV.
Deputy Marshal Carl Wigglesworth, who died in 2005, was shell-shocked for life from his experience at the Medina Shootout. He was the law enforcement officer who first discovered what happened to his fellow marshals.
Wigglesworth called in to report the deaths of Ken Muir and Robert Cheshire, and the severe injuries to James Hopson. He went through years of counseling and suffered insomnia, headaches and flashbacks.
“I’ve seen no sign of remorse at all from this man,” Wigglesworth told me after watching my interview with Yorie Kahl. “I see them as cold-blooded killers. There’s nothing in my heart that could justify releasing that man (Yorie Kahl) into the public. Ever…I think about what happened every day. I lost three partners. You just can’t forget that.”
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