Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in 2022, appeared at a hearing in Idaho on Thursday as his lawyers attempt to eliminate the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted.
Kohberger, who sat in court wearing a suit on Thursday, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary for the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20, who were stabbed to death in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, two years ago on 13 November 2022. He has pleaded not guilty.
At a hearing on Thursday morning, Ada county judge Steven Hippler heard oral arguments from both the county prosecutors and Kohberger’s defense team over capital punishment.
Idaho is one of the 27 states in the US that has the death penalty. The approved methods of execution in the state include lethal injection and, as of last year, execution by firing squad.
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Prosecutors in Idaho issued their intention to seek the death penalty for Kohberger last year, as required by state law. In order to sentence a defendant to death after a murder conviction, the jury has to be unanimous.
In court documents, the prosecutors have argued that several aggravating factors exist in Kohberger’s case that they say could qualify for the crime of capital punishment under state law.
The factors they have asserted include that there are multiple victims, that the murders were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel”, that he exhibited “utter disregard for human life”, and that he exhibited a “a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society”.
But Kohberger’s lawyers argue that the death penalty sentence ought to be removed from his case, calling it unconstitutional.
They argue, among other points, that the death penalty would violate Kohberger’s right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, his right to due process, and that the death penalty goes against “contemporary standards of decency”.
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His lawyers have also claimed that the criteria and standards for applying the death penalty are unclear and “unconstitutionally vague”, according to NBC News, and that Idaho’s requirement for a speedy trial makes it challenging for them to adequately prepare for a high-stakes death penalty case.
During the hearing on Thursday, Kohberger’s lawyers also argued that there is currently a shortage of lethal injection drugs in the US and in Idaho and that the state lacks effective means to execute an inmate.
“Idaho does not have a current means of executing anybody,” Anne Taylor, Kohberger’s public defender, said. “When somebody sits on death row and there’s no real means of executing them, that is dehumanizing to that person.
“It is anxiety. It is fear. it is the not knowing,” Taylor said, adding that the other method, firing squad, she believes is unconstitutional and has not been built yet in the state.
The prosecutors pushed back on the idea that Idaho does not have the means to put someone to death, saying that Idaho now has lethal injections available and that the methods could also change in the future.
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“We just don’t know enough now, frankly, to spend the time and the effort debating what we don’t know in the future,” the prosecutor said.
The death penalty in Idaho has not been used since 2012 because the state has had trouble obtaining lethal injection drugs and then earlier this year, an execution was botched and delayed an execution when prison staff couldn’t find the man’s vein.
It is not clear when the judge will make a decision.
Kohberger, 29, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, was arrested on 30 December 2022 at his parents’ house in Pennsylvania after weeks of investigation.
His DNA was matched to DNA found at the crime scene on a knife sheath and his cellphone data or surveillance video showed that him having visited the area at least a dozen times before the killings and that he traveled in the region that night.
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Kohberger’s lawyers have said in court filings he was out for a drive that night, as they say he did often to hike and run, “and/or see the moon and stars”.
After he was arrested, Kohberger was extradited to Idaho and has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
Kohberger’s trial is set to begin in early August 2025 and jury selection is scheduled to start 30 July.
In September, a judge in Idaho moved the trial to Boise from Latah county after Kohberger’s attorneys argued, among other things, that he could not receive a fair trial in the courthouse in the local area where the killings happened.
JACKSON, Wyo. — Springtime conjures images of adorable baby animals. Unfortunately, sometimes well-meaning humans feel compelled to interfere with Mother Nature by “rescuing” baby animals who appear to be alone.
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) issued a spring reminder discouraging people from intervening when they assume a wild animal is lost, abandoned or orphaned.
“While these folks typically mean well, the sad reality is they are often doing more damage than good when they intervene — and typically, mom was not far away to begin with,” IDFG shared in a press release.
“Here’s the hard truth,” the agency wrote. “Animal parents will periodically leave their young for an extended period of time for a myriad of reasons, whether it’s to search for food, to rest or to divert attention from their vulnerable offspring, especially if they sense danger. When it comes to wildlife babies, wildlife mothers know best.”
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In short, in an encounter with a lone duckling, gosling, deer fawn, baby bird, red dog or moose calf, do not disturb it. Instead, contact the state’s wildlife agency to report it. In Jackson, call the Wyoming Game and Fish Department at (307) 733-2321. In Idaho, reach IDFG at (208) 525-7290.
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I remember watching a documentary about Idaho’s wildlands. A narrator said there were probably many parts of the state where no human being has ever set foot. I believe that, but I stay relatively close to the highways. If I were 30 years younger, I would probably enjoy exploring the back country, but today, unless a plane takes me in and out, it’s not happening. I can’t say definitively that there is one spot that I find better than others. We’re surrounded by beautiful terrain, however. One place keeps calling me back.
Like a Scene from a Legendary Movie
When I go over the mountain between Gooding and Fairfield, I take time to stop at the overlook above the Camas Prairie. It reminds me of a scene in Exodus, where the Paul Newman character takes an American woman to look across a flat plain leading to Mount Tabor. He explains that’s the site where Deborah gathered her armies. It makes me feel there is something godly about the Camas Prairie. I keep going back to this spot. Sometimes I take along a folding chair and sit and look at the world below.
Slow Down and See the Work of the Creator
Fairfield may be nothing more than a blip as people speed down Route 20, but it’s their loss. On the other side of the highway is some of the prettiest country in Idaho. It’s going to be a lot less lush this spring, but drought conditions haven’t been nearly as severe in the central highlands. But if I’m granted a few more years by the Almighty, I plan to see the prairie for many more springs.
‘Miserable’: McCall 4th of July Getaway Gets Roasted
What was once a great little summer escape has become a total headache according to the internet
