OAN Staff Abril Elfi
12:45 PM – Monday, October 14, 2024
Idaho prosecutors told a judge that Bryan Kohberger, the 29-year-old man accused of killing four University of Idaho students, should face the death penalty if convicted.
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The prosecution in Kohberger’s case submitted 13 legal briefs rejecting claims that the public did not favor the death penalty.
They also stated that Kohberger’s defense, led by attorneys Anne Taylor and Elisa Massoth, made numerous requests outside the boundaries of established precedent.
“The crux of the defendant’s argument is that there has been a major shift in public opinion regarding the morality, decency, and humanity of the death penalty,” according to a filing by prosecutor Bill Thompson and special assistant attorney general Ingrid Batey, The Columbian newspaper reported.
The prosecution continued, arguing that the majority of American states have the death penalty, despite defense claims that it was out of step with modern social norms.
“The court should deny the defendant’s motion because this is an issue that has already been ruled upon by the Idaho Supreme Court,” the prosecution added. “Defendant is asking this court to ignore Idaho precedent as well as precedent set by the Supreme Court of the United States.”
The defense has attacked the death penalty on a number of grounds, from “contemporary standards of decency” to a purported breach of international law.
They argued that the firing squad “was never constitutional” and that Idaho’s two authorized methods of execution—lethal injection and firing squad—violate both the Eighth and 14th Amendments.
Kohberger is currently awaiting trial on multiple counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary related to the deaths of the four students who were all murdered in the same home.
The victims were identified as Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20.
According to the probable cause affidavit, investigators tied him to the murders by using DNA evidence found on a knife sheath that was left at the scene, which was located in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found dead.
The affidavit also states that during the course of investigating Kohberger’s prior phone location pings, authorities found that at least 12 times before November 13th, 2022, his cell phone’s location was in the same vicinity of the 1122 King Road residence, where the murders occurred.
Kohberger has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his trial was originally set for October 2nd of this year. However, it was later delayed due to the suspect waiving his right to a speedy trial. It is now tentatively set for sometime in June 2025.
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