ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Board of Pardons voted to commute the sentence of Brian Pippitt, who spent over two decades in prison following a conviction of first-degree murder in 2001.

Pippitt was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder for the 1998 death of Evelyn Malin, a beloved 84-year-old storekeeper in Aitkin County. He was one of several people charged in the murder case.

The Board voted Wednesday, Sept. 24, to commute Pippitt’s sentence based on good behavior in prison and the length of time Pippitt served in prison compared to his codefendants.

The commutation follows a 2024 recommendation from the Conviction Review Unit of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office that Pippitt be exonerated based on the insurmountable reasonable doubt of Pippitt’s guilt.

The recommendat

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