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Bryan Kohberger's fight against death penalty gets day in court; expert skeptical of defense's arguments
Student murder suspect Bryan Kohberger returnED to court Thursday, where his defense hopes to have the death penalty taken off the table before he goes to trial in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho undergrads.
The defense planned to call two expert witnesses at the hearing — forensic pathologist Dr. Barbara Wolf and University of Idaho law professor Aliza Cover, whose research has examined capital punishment and constitutional law.
Judge Steven Hippler denied both requests, siding with prosecutors who argued that their testimony would be irrelevant under Idaho law. The judge said he had also read an affidavit from Dr. Wolf and an article from Cover that largely summed up the testimony the defense expected.
BRYAN KOHBERGER DEFENSE CALLS IN FAMED EXPERT WHO HELPED O.J. SIMPSON
Bryan Kohberger, left, listens as defense attorney Jay Logsdon, right, presents oral arguments Oct. 26, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. (Kai Eiselein-Pool/Getty Images)
Kohberger’s team filed a number of attacks on the possibility of capital punishment last month, challenging it as a potentially cruel or unusual punishment, arguing that it goes against “contemporary standards of decency” and asserting that Idaho’s newly revived firing squad is unconstitutional, among other arguments.
“It appears the defense is laying the groundwork for appeal,” said Matt Mangino, a former Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, district attorney and expert on capital punishment litigation. “Their most recent arguments are for an appellate court not a trial court.”
Those include taking issue with nearly all of the alleged aggravating factors and arguing that the firing squad is unconstitutional. While they’ve had some success, including dropping the aggravator for burglary that prosecutors agreed with, they face an uphill battle, Mangino said.
BRYAN KOHBERGER DEFENSE EYES DEATH PENALTY FINE PRINT
“There has never been a method of execution determined by the Supreme Court to be unconstitutional,” he told Fox News Digital. “Whether someone has been hanged or gassed or electrocuted or shot, the Supreme Court has never said that any method like that, and also lethal injection, is unconstitutional.”
Although Idaho only recently brought back the firing squad as an option, it’s a reliable method that has been used both historically and in modern times, he said.
“There was a pause in the death penalty in the early ’70s, and when the death penalty came back a few years later, the first execution in this country was by firing squad,” he said.
Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and two other housemates in Goncalves’ final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
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He even wrote about a firing squad execution in his book, “The Executioner’s Toll, 2010,” which examined every execution carried out in the U.S. that year.
He did find one move by the defense legally interesting, he said. Courts commonly use two-step proceedings, known as “bifurcated trials,” with a guilt phase and a penalty phase for capital cases to prevent the death penalty from being handed down arbitrarily.
Bryan Kohberger is in the custody of the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, according to online jail records. (Ada County Sheriff’s Office)
“They’re making an interesting argument that the process should be trifurcated, for lack of a better term,” he told Fox News Digital.
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The defense has essentially proposed three phases, he said — a guilty phase, a new phase to determine the aggravating circumstances and then the penalty phase.
Bryan Christopher Kohberger arrives at the Monroe County Courthouse in Stroudsburg, Pa., Jan. 3, 2023, before waiving extradition to Idaho to face murder charges in the stabbing deaths of four university students. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
“That would really sort of turn the whole process on its head, because the Supreme Court has said, ‘Hey, bifurcated trials are a fair, less arbitrary way to do this,’” he said.
Under Idaho law, prosecutors had 60 days after Kohberger’s arraignment May 22, 2023, to announce they would seek the death penalty upon conviction if they intended to do so.
Bryan Kohberger’s defense attorneys, from left, Anne Taylor, Elisa Massoth and Jay Logsdon depart the Latah County Courthouse in Moscow, Idaho, June 27, 2023. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
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About a month later, they sent that notice, alleging in court filings that the former criminology Ph.D. student “has exhibited a propensity to commit murder, which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society.”
Investigators set up outside the home where four University of Idaho students were slain in November 2022 in Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 1, 2023. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Kohberger is accused of killing Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20, in a 4 a.m. attack Nov. 13, 2022. All four were staying in a six-bedroom home just steps from the University of Idaho campus.
Two housemates survived the attack, including one who told prosecutors she heard someone crying and saw a masked man leave.
Police search a home in Moscow, Idaho, Nov. 14, 2022, where four University of Idaho students were killed. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
Detectives found a Ka-Bar knife sheath under Mogen’s body, which prosecutors alleged in court filings had Kohberger’s DNA on the snap.
Kohberger was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at neighboring Washington State University, less than 10 miles from site of the killings. He has a master’s degree in criminal justice from DeSales University in Pennsylvania.
A judge entered not guilty pleas on his behalf at the arraignment. His trial is expected to begin next year.
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LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — One woman is dead following a head-on collision on US-95 Sunday afternoon.
Nevada Highway Patrol responded to a report of a crash at 4:41 p.m. at mile marker 105, approximately 45 miles north of Beatty. The crash involved two sport utility vehicles.
One adult female driver was confirmed dead at the scene. The other driver was transported to a local area hospital with injuries.
MORE ON FOX5: Report: Nevada traffic deaths down 33% for April
No road closures are in effect. Investigations are being conducted on the southbound shoulder area.
Nevada Highway Patrol, a division of the Nevada State Police, is asking motorists to slow down and use caution in the area as troopers and investigators work at the scene.
Further information will be provided following the preliminary investigation.
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Damon Bankston, RB
Height: 5’ 10 ⅜”
Weight: 196 lbs
Class: Fifth-year Senior
School: New Mexico
Hands: 9 ½”
Arm Length: 30 ⅞”
Wingspan: 72 ⅝”
40-Yard Dash: 4.44 seconds
Bench Press: 21 reps
Vertical: 33”
Broad Jump: 10’ 3”
20-Yard Shuttle: 4.32 seconds
3-Cone: 6.89 seconds
STATS
Damon Bankston was an unranked running back recruit from Katy Paetow in Katy, Texas, who enrolled at Weber State, an FCS school in Ogden, Utah.
Bankston would stay at Weber State from 2021 to 2024 before transferring to New Mexico for his final season of college football in 2025.
As a redshirt senior, Bankston would rack up 635 rushing yards, 397 receiving yards, and 8 scrimmage touchdowns, as well as another 434 kick return yards and two touchdowns on just 12 returns.
Strengths
- Explosive athlete with elite acceleration
- Soft, natural hands as a pass-catcher out of the backfield
- Solid vision when operating in zone run schemes
- Usually a patient runner before accelerating through gaps
- Plays very quick as a runner with a bit of a choppy style
- Eliminates tackle angles with acceleration
- Can make defenders miss in space with a solid juke move
- Kick return specialist with two return touchdowns in 2025
- Willing as a pass protector in the backfield
Weaknesses
- Likely won’t be able to survive through contact often against NFL-caliber defenders
- Questionable ability to run between the tackles at the next level
- Not necessarily a weakness but only one year of FBS film, not sure how he’ll adapt to NFL game speed
- Questionable size to succeed in pass protection
- Ball security was an issue for him in 2025, including two fumbles in one game against Colorado State
- Play strength is a concern with contact balance, ball security, pass protection, and the ability to be an all-around back
Summary
Bankston will at best be a change-of-pace back in the NFL who never handles a significant workload.
Carving out a role as a return specialist should be the goal for Bankston to make the roster in 2026, which will also be a tall task for him to solidify with Deonte Banks back for the Giants in 2026.
Bankston, who at this point is probably more of a practice squad candidate, can definitely provide some juice on special teams as a kickoff returner. In college he averaged 36.2 yards per return and had two returns for touchdown, showing some explosiveness.
The step up in competition from the FCS to FBS for Bankston caused him to be less consistent with creating yards after contact and making defenders miss.
It’s fair to estimate that with another step up in competition, Bankston could once again see a decrease in that ability to create.
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