Bryan Kohberger's defense team seeks to remove death penalty in Idaho college murders case

MOSCOW, Idaho -- 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.

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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.

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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.

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