Bryan Kohberger's legal team argues against the death penalty: 'Inhumane and unjust'
An Idaho student murder suspect may face the death penalty and could be executed by lethal injection or firing squad if convicted and sentenced.
The defense team of Bryan Kohberger is arguing against the death penalty for the quadruple murder suspect in Idaho on several grounds.
On November 13, 2022, Kohberger, 29, was charged with four counts of murder and burglary for allegedly killing Xana Kernodle, 20; Ethan Chapin, 20; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; and Madison Mogen, 21.
Kohberger's defense attorneys argue against the death penalty by stating that Idaho lacks a viable method for executing a capital punishment sentence, the state's death penalty method is unconstitutional, preparing for a capital murder case takes 10 months, and the death penalty violates the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
According to his attorneys, executing 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."
The argument is made that the use of firing squad as a legal execution method in Idaho, following lethal injection, is unconstitutional.
In other documents filed Thursday, Kohberger's defense argues that "punishment that does not align with the evolving standards of a modern, civilized society is cruel and unusual."
"The majority of modern society has abolished capital punishment because the execution of human beings by governments is considered a violation of human dignity and spirit. The institutional killing of civilian prisoners is widely condemned by the modern, civilized world. The United States has been frequently criticized by the international community for continuing to execute its own people."
GET REAL TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
The state is attempting to enforce Idaho law, which states that a jury has the right to determine not only guilt but also the potential penalty.
Prosecutors previously stated that characterizing their actions as the State trying to kill someone is an emotional appeal with no place in the courtroom. They are merely fulfilling their responsibilities under the law.
A 29-year-old former criminology Ph.D. student at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, is accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students with a KA-BAR-style knife in their home near campus on Sunday, November 13, 2022, at around 3:20 a.m.
In December 2022, Kohberger was apprehended at his family's residence in Pennsylvania.
The trial of him is scheduled to occur no later than the summer of 2025.
us
You might also like
- Governor says Kentucky judge was shot and killed in his chambers.
- On a hot day, Texas law enforcement discovered 16 undocumented individuals concealed within a trailer's "false wall," prompting the arrest of the driver.
- The Kentucky couple who discovered the remains of the alleged interstate shooter claims they became 'bounty hunters'.
- A hiker in Yellowstone was airlifted to the hospital with severe burns after straying from the designated trail near Old Faithful.
- Two Massachusetts corrections officers were stabbed by inmates, prompting the union to claim that they are effectively running the asylum.