Kohberger cannot escape death if convicted: opinion

Murder suspect Bryan Kohberger appears in a mugshot; The four victims of the Idaho University student murder case appear in pictures of the Kernodle family (left: Bryan Kohberger; top right: Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, bottom right: Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen)

There’s little chance Bryan Kohberger will avoid the death penalty if he’s convicted of killing four Idaho college students in their off-campus apartment. In states that impose the death penalty, the perpetrators of several heinous murders rarely escape this fate.

Kohberger is accused of stabbing Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves on November 13, 2022. All four were students at the University of Idaho. Kohberger was arrested six weeks after murders at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania. He is charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

In an effort to save his life if convicted, Kohberger’s legal team has filed a series of pretrial motions challenging the imposition of the death penalty and the manner in which it will be carried out.

Recently, an Idaho court sitting in Ada County rejected all of Kohberger’s requests because they related to the death penalty.

Kohberger’s defense team had tried to abolish the death penalty as a possible punishment. Kohberger’s lawyers argued that forcing inmates to wait for years on death row was cruel and unusual punishment and the methods used to execute prisoners in Idaho. Lawyers also argued that Idaho’s death penalty laws violate an international treaty that prohibits the torture of prisoners.