Defense asks judge to ban the death penalty for man charged in stabbing deaths of 4 Idaho students

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Defense asks judge to ban the ****** penalty for man charged in stabbing deaths of 4 Idaho students

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Attorneys for a man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students asked a judge to take the ****** penalty off the table Thursday, arguing that international, federal and state law all make it inappropriate for the case.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

is accused of the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Investigators said they were able to link Kohberger — then a

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

at nearby Washington State University — to the ****** from DNA found on a ****** sheath at the scene, surveillance videos and cellphone data.

When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the ****** penalty if he is convicted.

During a pre-trial motion hearing, Kohberger’s defense team made a broad range of arguments against the ****** penalty, saying in part that it does not fit today’s standards of decency, that it is cruel to make condemned inmates sit for decades on ****** row awaiting ********** and that it violates an international treaty prohibiting the ******** of prisoners.

But 4th District Judge Stephen Hippler questioned many of those claims, saying that the international treaty they referenced was focused on ensuring that prisoners are given due process so they are not convicted and ********* without a fair trial.

Prosecutors noted that the Idaho Supreme Court has already considered many of those arguments in other capital cases and allowed the the ****** penalty to stand.

Still, by bringing up the issues during the motion hearing, Kohberger’s defense team took the first step toward preserving their legal arguments in the court record, potentially allowing them to raise them again on appeal.

The judge said he would issue a written ruling on the motions later.

Kristi and Steve Goncalves, the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, attended the hearing. Afterward they said the details of the case show the ****** penalty is merited.

“You’ve got four victims, all in one house — that’s more than enough,” Steve Goncalves said.

Kristi Goncalves said she talked to the coroner and knows what happened to her daughter.

“If he did anything like he did to our daughter to the others, then he deserves to ****,” she said.

Kohberger’s attorneys have said he was out for a drive the night of the killings, something he often did to look at the sky.

His trial is scheduled to begin next August and is expected to last up to three months. The Goncalves family said they have rented a home in Boise so they can attend.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Defense #asks #judge #ban #****** #penalty #man #charged #stabbing #deaths #Idaho #students

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up