Parole board denies release for Rocori school shooter, accomplice in vicious Minneapolis murder

A newly created parole board that examines juvenile life sentences rejected releasing Jason McLaughlin and Brian Flowers on Friday, but the board set a framework for the future release of the two men whose crimes shocked the state.

McLaughlin killed two of his classmates at Rocori High School in 2003 when he was 15. Five years later, Flowers was an accomplice to the vicious murder of a mother and son in Minneapolis when he was 16.

At the Minnesota Supervised Release Board hearing on Friday, both men looked back at the juveniles they were when they committed their crimes and spoke to the changes they see in themselves now.

“I came in prison with nothing,” said Flowers, 33. “I‘m talking about me as a man. As a young boy, I came in with nothing. I didn’t have my mind. My mind, at that time, was still being developed.”

In 2023, Minnesota became the 28th state to end life sentences for juvenile offenders. Before that, anyone with a life sentence in Minnesota typically had to wait 30 years for any chance at release. The law also created a new release board under the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC).

“I am not the same person I was 21 years ago,” said McLaughlin, 36. He is being housed at Oak Park Heights, the only maximum security prison in Minnesota.

During the hearing, board members shared concerns that McLaughlin didn’t fully grasp the impact of killing Seth Bartell, 14, and Aaron Rollins, 17, and whether he could be successful transitioning into society.

McLaughlin said he wants the family members of the victims to know he is sorry and “living the best way that I can to honor their sons.”

The defendants appeared via video call from prison. The board convened in a classroom at a DOC building in St. Paul. For Flowers, the room was largely filled with family and supporters. For McLaughlin, the crowd was mostly family and friends of his victims.

Flowers was granted a transfer out of Rush City — one of three closed security prisons in Minnesota — to a lower security prison so he can begin Prison Fellowship Academy. The board said they would revisit his parole request in 18 months. At that time, he could potentially be released or be moved to a minimum security prison to continue an incremental road back to society.

Paul Schnell, the commissioner of the DOC and chair of the board, told Flowers, “I hope you see the board hears you and sees great promise.”

The board granted McLaughlin a transfer to participate in the same academy with the understanding that, if he transitions well, he could be moved to a medium security prison in two years. The board will revisit his request for parole in five years.

McLaughlin said he works in the prison kitchen and hopes to eventually own his own restaurant. He said he’s also learned to control his anger and has only been involved in one fight in the last 21 years.

“I’m not a violent person,” he said, which drew audible gasps from family members of his victims.

Bartell’s mother, Kim, said she’s glad McLaughlin will be staying behind bars for at least five more years but questioned his demeanor.

“He just does not seem normal to me,” she said.

During the hearing, McLaughlin listed seven different medications he is taking, including several for psychiatric disorders. “I have severe depression,” he said. “I hear voices all the time. It’s rough without them.”

McLaughlin’s mom, Mary, spoke on his behalf, saying he was very paranoid when first imprisoned but he’s less agitated now.

“I think the sooner he gets [out], the better. I think his mental health will improve a lot being out of there and in a different environment. He’s on a lot of medication right now. And I would like to get that down somewhat and get him more stable.”

William Klumpp, the prosecuting attorney on McLaughlin’s murder case, urged the board to deny any early release.

“School shootings still make front-page news and is on the TV regardless of where it happens,” he told the board. “I think it’s important the public have confidence that when that sort of heinous crime occurs there is a consequence to that and society will be protected.”

In his review, Flowers spoke about the murder of Katricia Daniels and her 10-year-old son, Robert Shepard. Flowers was convicted on four counts of aiding and abetting first-degree murder for his role in the killing, which was carried out by his co-defendant Stafon Thompson. Daniels was stabbed more than 190 times. Her son was bludgeoned with a television.

“Two innocent people senselessly lost their lives because of the decision I made before during and after this event,” Flowers told the board. “That’s the hardest thing, when I look in the mirror, to deal with.”

Attorneys argued that Flowers played a lesser role than Thompson; while Thompson was covered in blood and had cuts on his hands, Flowers had one drop of blood on his shoes.

Schnell handled the first wave of questions to each defendant, then the board probed into facets of their time in prison.

They asked about the work the defendants had done to better themselves or make any amends to the victims' families. They asked about what risks they saw in going from years in prison to acclimating back into society and if they could truthfully handle that transfer. They asked them if they had any better understanding of why they committed the crimes.

Flowers is married now with twin boys who are about to turn 2 years old, conceived through in vitro fertilization. His wife, Samantha, a licensed social worker, was his support spokesperson. She sat alongside Flowers inside a conference room and spoke at length of his growth in prison. She said he helped save a prisoner’s life who was attempting suicide, helps mentor inmates to write résumés and has taken extensive courses to try to better himself.

The board members are selected for their expertise in psychology and criminal corrections. It includes Christine Bray, Jo Earhart, Andrew Larson, Jody Nelson, Sheryl Ramstad and Donald Streufert. Streufert and Nelson are youth development members and vote on juvenile cases. The leaders of the four legislative caucuses each appointed a member. Gov. Tim Walz directly appointed two members.

Minnesota hasn’t had a parole board since the 1970s when the state created sentencing guidelines. Before the creation of this board, the commissioner of the DOC had sole decisionmaking power to grant parole for anyone with a life sentence who had served at least 30 years in prison.

The new board has been reviewing cases since July 2024 and in that time has granted parole to 13 people and denied parole to 45. They also have the power to collapse consecutive sentences into concurrent sentences.

Rachel Goldberg, Aaron Rollins' sister, was 19 and a sophomore at Concordia College in Moorhead when her brother was murdered.

She said the family believes the sentences McLaughlin was given for the murders should continue to be consecutive, not concurrent: “We want there to be a specific division: You killed two people, you need to serve two separate periods of time for the lives you took.”

The third hearing Friday was for Giovanni Garcia. The 31-year-old from Minneapolis pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2010 when he was 17. Garcia asked for parole but, if not released, he wanted to be moved from Rush City to a medium security prison so he could begin treatment for substance abuse.

The board denied parole but granted that request and said they would reexamine Garcia’s parole request in three years.