Idaho college killings remain a death penalty case

The judge overseeing the Bryan Kohberger murder case has ruled that the death penalty will remain on the table as the trial continues, denying a request from Kohberger’s defense attorneys.

In June 2023, prosecutors announced that they planned to seek the death penalty against the former graduate student. Student is accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students — Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20 — in November 2022.

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In September of that year, Kohberger’s lawyers launched a sweeping effort to abolish the death penalty, arguing in hundreds of pages of court filings that Kohberger’s life should not be at stake because, among other things, the death penalty would violate his constitutional rights as well as contemporary standards of decency .

However, in a lengthy trial Wednesday, Judge Steven Hippler ruled against all 12 of Kohberger’s motions challenging various aspects of Idaho’s death penalty system.

In his 55-page decision, Judge Hippler “concludes that relief in favor of (Kohberger) is not warranted on any of the motions.”

Defense attorneys had argued, among other things, that the death penalty was inconsistent with current social mores. However, the judge ruled that “there is no basis for departing from established law affirming Idaho’s death penalty law as constitutional” and that it remains “consistent with today’s standards of decency.”

Defense attorneys also argued that the death penalty should be struck down in this case based on the execution methods — particularly citing the lack of lethal injection and arguing that firing squad executions, which were legalized in Idaho last year, were “cruel and unusual.” ” And they argued that making their client wait on death row without knowing “how he will be executed” was itself an “unconstitutional” form of torture.

But the judge again disagreed, sharing the prosecution’s view that this argument was “not ripe for discussion” because Kohberger had not yet been convicted. And, the judge continued, even if it were appropriate to address them now, both the firing squad and lethal injection have been found to be constitutional and permitted in the state.

The judge also ruled against every single attempt by the defense to attack the aggravating factors identified by the prosecution that qualified Kohberger for the death penalty.

Kohberger was arrested in December 2022 after a six-week manhunt.

MORE: Judge postpones University of Idaho murder trial, sets August start date

Kohberger, who was a criminology student at nearby Washington State University at the time of the crime, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary.

A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

The trial is scheduled for August 2025.

Idaho university killings set to remain death penalty case originally appeared on abcnews.go.com