BOISE, Idaho – Attorneys for the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022 want the possibility of the death penalty taken off the table, specifically citing what it believes is the ambiguous methods Idaho could use to execute him.
Bryan Kohberger is scheduled to stand trial next summer for the murders of Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if convicted.
Kohberger’s attorneys have made several motions about this, saying the death penalty is unconstitutional.
In the latest filing this week, attorneys cite the method of execution specifically.
Because of a law passed in recent years, Idaho can use a firing squad if it can’t carry out an execution by lethal injection.
In the motion, attorneys say “one condemned to die in Idaho has no real way to know how they will be killed at least until the death warrant is issued… As things stand, Idaho has no viable method for killing Kohberger.”
Attorneys say Idaho “does not have the ability to kill a man with an injection at this point in time and likely will not in the future.”
They cite a lack of trained people willing to take life, the difficulty in finding drugs that kill without unnecessary pain, and the difficulty of purchasing the drugs required to carry out lethal injection.
Idaho has, however, obtained those chemicals recently.
In February, it attempted to use those chemicals to kill condemned serial killer Thomas Creech. The execution failed when the would-be executioners could not establish an IV line.
The state recently issued another death warrant for Creech and announced changes to the execution process; he’s scheduled to die on November 13th, though the method of execution is not explicitly mentioned in the death warrant.
“The botched execution of Thomas Creech on February 28, 2024 demonstrates that, even when lethal injection drugs are obtained, lethal injection is not available in Idaho,” Kohberger’s attorneys wrote.
Kohberger’s defense team goes on to describe the firing squad, calling the method excessive, saying it “subjects the human being killed to unnecessary physical pain.”
Not only do Kohberger’s attorneys refer to the death penalty as causing a circus outside the prison.
A decision on whether to keep the death penalty as a possible sentence if convicted will rest with a judge in Ada County.
The trial was moved there from Latah County earlier this year in a victory for the defense.
The judge will hear the death penalty motions on November 7.
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