Defense attorneys seek to overturn death penalty for Bryan Kohberger in quadruple murder trial in Idaho

The defense team for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, is calling for the death penalty to be overturned in his case.

Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in connection with the murder of students Kaylee Goncalves (21), Madison Mogen (21), Xana Kernodle (20) and Ethan Chapin (20) on November 13.

In 13 motions released Thursday evening, Kohberger's lawyers cited myriad reasons why the state's intent to seek the death penalty was unconstitutional.

Kohberger's lawyers argued, among other things, that “Idaho's system for obtaining death sentences is currently unconstitutional” and that the state's “guarantee of a speedy trial prevents effective counsel in death penalty cases.” They further argue that capital crimes “must be subject to heightened constitutional scrutiny” and cannot be prepared in 10 months. Kohberger's trial is scheduled to begin in June 2025.

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

“The abolition of the death penalty in most U.S. states suggests that there has been an ideological shift and that this punishment now contradicts our contemporary standards of decency,” they wrote, noting that five U.S. states have abolished the practice in recent years.

Other motions have argued that Idaho's death penalty law violates international law and fundamental principles of international human rights. They also claim that Idaho's methods of execution, lethal injection and firing squad, are cruel and unusual punishments and therefore violate the United States Constitution.

In 2023, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed a bill allowing the state's Department of Corrections to carry out executions by firing squad when drugs for lethal injection are not available.

The 13 motions were filed Thursday to meet a court-imposed deadline for motions challenging the death penalty. The court set an Oct. 10 deadline for the state to respond and scheduled a hearing on the matter for Nov. 7.

Last year, prosecutors in the case said they wanted to seek the death penalty, saying in a complaint that they had “not found or received any mitigating circumstances” that would prevent them from imposing the death penalty.

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