The defense of University of Idaho quadruple murder suspect Bryan Kohberger is seeking to have the death penalty thrown out in his case.

On Thursday, Kohberger’s defense filed over a dozen motions seeking to strike aggravating factors, and the death penalty itself.

The documents also claim the means by which the death penalty is carried out in Idaho are unconstitutional, saying, “executing Mr. Kohberger by means of lethal injection or a gunshot as conceived of by the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) would violate his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment and his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

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Other documents claim Idaho’s death penalty violates international law and human rights, and that “there has been an ideological shift (in the United States) and that the punishment now violates our contemporary stands of decency.”

Kohberger’s defense also claims “Idaho’s statutory and constitutional guarantee to a speedy trial prevents effective assistance of counsel in death penalty cases,” and “a capital case cannot be prepared in 10 months.”

Kohberger is charged with the brutal murders of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves at their rental home near the University of Idaho. Six weeks after they were stabbed to death, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.

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His trial is currently slated to begin in June 2025.

For months, Kohberger’s attorneys had been fighting to have his trial moved from Latah County to Ada County, where Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell stood trial. Following a hearing last week, Judge John Judge is currently weighing the decision to move the trial.

According to court records, Judge Judge will hear arguments on the challenge to the death penalty on Nov. 7.

This story was originally published by Ivy Brown on Court TV.

By Natasha Anderson

Published: 16:17 BST, 6 September 2024 | Updated: 16:28 BST, 6 September 2024

An archery hunter who was savagely attacked by a grizzly bear before he shot the enraged animal dead has survived the surprise attack.

The man and his friend were hunting elk near Henrys Lake in Island Park, Idaho, located approximately 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park, on Sunday when they were attacked by an adult male grizzly bear.

One of the hunters was ‘knocked down and bitten by the bear’ during the encounter, according to the Idaho Fish and Game.

Officials said the pair were able to reach their sidearms and fire at the animal, ‘deterring the attack and killing the bear’.

They then called 911 and the injured elk hunter was helicoptered to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where he was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. His current condition is unknown.

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An elk hunter who was savagely attacked by a grizzly bear in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest on Sunday before shooting it dead has survived the surprise attack (stock photo)

The man and his friend were hunting elk near Henrys Lake in Island Park, Idaho – located approximately 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park – on Sunday when they were attacked by an adult male grizzly bear. One of the hunters was ‘knocked down and bitten by the bear’ during the encounter

The duo were hunting in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road Sunday when the bear attacked from a ‘very close distance’.

Fish and Game, along with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, Caribou-Targhee National Forest and Emergency Medical Service teams, responded to the scene.

After a thorough investigation, conservation officers determined that the hunters acted in self-defense when they shot the grizzly. The species is protected under state and federal law.

‘I am extremely grateful that both of these individuals survived this encounter,’ Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Matt Pieron said in a press release Monday. 

‘I have had the opportunity to speak with the injured hunter and his family and they are truly wonderful people. I wish him a speedy recovery from his injuries and the trauma these two hunters experienced.’ 

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The duo were hunting in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest near the Divide Creek Road Sunday when the bear attacked from a ‘very close distance’. After a thorough investigation, conservation officers determined that the hunters acted in self-defense when they shot the grizzly bear, a federally protected species (File photo of Caribou Targhee National Forest)

Federal law states it is illegal to kill a grizzly bear unless one is doing so in a situation of self-defense, according to US Fish and Wildlife. 

‘Grizzly bears in the 48 contiguous states are currently protected as a threatened species. It is illegal to harm, harass or kill these bears, except in cases of self-defense or the defense of others,’ an US official told ABC News.

‘Grizzly bear conservation is complex and only made possible through a variety of partnerships with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, state wildlife agencies, Native American Tribes, federal agencies, universities and other organizations.’ 

CNN
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The defense team for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the 2022 killings of four University of Idaho students, is seeking to remove the death penalty from his case.

Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary in the November 13 killings of students Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Madison Mogen, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20.

In 13 motions made public Thursday evening, Kohberger’s lawyers argued myriad reasons why the state’s intent to seek the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Among the various arguments, Kohberger’s attorneys wrote, “Idaho’s system of obtaining death convictions is unconstitutional at this time” and that the state’s “guarantee to a speedy trial prevents effective assistance of counsel in death penalty cases.” They go on to argue that capital cases “must be subjected to heightened constitutional scrutiny” and cannot be prepared in 10 months. Kohberger’s trial is scheduled to start in June 2025.

One motion focuses on what Kohberger’s defense team calls an “ideological shift” and “evolving standards” in the way Americans view the death penalty.

“The lack of an active death penalty in the majority of states within the United States indicates that there has been an ideological shift and that the punishment now violates our contemporary standards of decency,” they wrote, noting that five US states have abolished the practice in recent years.

Other motions argued the state’s death penalty statute constitutes a violation of international law and the fundamental precepts of international human rights. They also contend Idaho’s methods of execution, lethal injection and firing squad, are cruel and unusual punishment and therefore a violation of the Constitution of the United States.

In 2023, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law that allows the state’s department of corrections to perform execution by firing squad if lethal injections drugs are not available.

The 13 filings were made Thursday to meet a court-set deadline for any motions challenging the death penalty. The court has set October 10 as the deadline for the state’s response and scheduled a hearing on the matter for November 7.

Last year the prosecution in the case stated their intention to pursue the death penalty, stating in a filing it had “not identified or been provided with any mitigating circumstances” to stop it from considering capital punishment.