Despite the gravity of the accusations against Travis Decker , the fugitive father accused of murdering his three young daughters at a remote campsite 18 miles west of Leavenworth, the federal charge he currently faces does not qualify for the death penalty.

Decker has been federally indicted in U.S. District Court in Spokane for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution, which is a nonviolent offense that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Under federal law, that charge does not meet the legal criteria for capital punishment.

To pursue the federal death penalty, prosecutors must charge crimes such as terrorism-related killings, murder of a federal official, or murder committed during a kidnapping or drug trafficking incident. None of those are p

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