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Idaho murders case: Bryan Kohberger’s likelihood of firing squad execution if convicted increases

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Idaho murders case: Bryan Kohberger’s likelihood of firing squad execution if convicted increases


Idaho is one step closer to becoming the first state to use a firing squad as its primary execution method, months ahead of the start of college murder suspect Bryan Kohberger’s trial.

So far, only Idaho, Utah, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Mississippi allow firing squads for executions. However, the firing squad is not the primary death penalty method used in any of those states, according to data received from the Death Penalty Information Center by the Idaho Capital Sun.

House Bill 37 moved to the Senate floor for a vote after passing the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee on Wednesday, the outlet reported. 

As of now, lethal injection is the primary execution method in Idaho as nine people are currently on death row in the state.

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BRYAN KOHBERGER CASE: IDAHO MAKES KEY MOVE ON FIRING SQUAD EXECUTIONS

Bryan Kohberger, right, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022, is escorted into a courtroom for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.  (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren/Pool)

Bill sponsor Rep. Bruce Skaug, who previously pushed for legislation that restored the firing squad as a backup option to lethal injection, argued that the botched lethal injection of condemned serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech last year highlights problems with that method.

“I, along with many others, believe the firing squad is more certain, has less appellate issues, and is more humane than other forms of execution,” Skaug previously told Fox News Digital.

Creech was the fourth condemned inmate in the U.S. to survive his scheduled lethal injection in just a few years.

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IDAHO SUSPECT BRYAN KOHBERGER’S BLOODY NEW DEFENSE CLAIM COULD FALL APART UNDER SIMPLE THEORY, PROFILER SAYS

The execution chamber at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution is shown as Security Institution Warden Randy Blades look on in Boise, Idaho, on Oct. 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Jessie L. Bonner, File)

While discussions of using firing squads have become more common in recent years, one Republican lawmaker is opposed to the bill passing. 

“It’s cruel, and it’s inhumane,” Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, told the committee, according to the Capital Sun. “I think, quite frankly, it’s beneath the dignity of the state of Idaho. I say that with no animosity directed at anybody, but since I’m sitting here, I have an obligation to tell you how I feel on any given bill.” 

IDAHO MURDERS SUSPECT BRYAN KOHBERGER’S MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS GIVEN TO PROSECUTORS AS HE FIGHTS DEATH PENALTY

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Map showing Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger’s movement on the morning of Nov. 13 after four University of Idaho students were stabbed in their home. (Latah County Sheriff’s Office/Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)

Foreman was the only Republican on the committee to oppose the bill, according to the outlet.

House Bill 37 must pass the Idaho House and Senate and avoid the governor’s veto to become law. 

The bill advances as prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Kohberger, who is accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students: 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.

A Boise-based defense attorney, Edwina Elcox, who has been following the case closely, previously told Fox News Digital that Kohberger’s mental health could also be a potential mitigating factor that spares his life, if convicted.

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“I would imagine those records were given to the prosecution because there is something the defense wants them to consider. Obviously, there is no insanity defense in Idaho. So, whatever those records show is likely as some sort of mitigation,” Elcox explained.

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The court documents show the mental health records were initially handed over on Jan. 9, almost two months after Ada County Judge Steven Hippler ruled Kohberger can face the death penalty if convicted.

The trial is scheduled for later this year. Kohberger faces four charges of first-degree murder and another charge of felony burglary.

A judge entered not-guilty pleas on his behalf at his arraignment. 

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Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com



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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances

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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances


For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.

The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.

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Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.

Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.

Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.

“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.

Doing so is a risk, he said.

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“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.

Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.

But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.

Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.

Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.

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“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.

The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.

House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.

Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio

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University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

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University of Idaho professor awarded M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders


A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.

A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”

Ashley Guillard posted TikTok videos falsely linking a University of Idaho professor to the Idaho college murders, leading to a defamation lawsuit. TikTok/ashleyisinthebookoflife4

“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.

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“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”

Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.

The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.

Idaho murder victims Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right, and their two surviving roommates.

Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.

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Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”

The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the savage slayings in July 2025 in a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. AP

Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.

In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.

During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.

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The off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on Nov. 17, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. James Keivom

However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.

She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.

It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.

The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

With Post wires

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Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages

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Gas prices expected to exceed  as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages


BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.

The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.

“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”

On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.

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State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline

  • Washington / $4.37
  • Oregon / $3.92
  • Nevada / $3.70
  • Idaho / $2.97
  • Colorado / $2.89
  • Montana / $2.82
  • Utah / $2.74
  • Wyoming / $2.73

In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.





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