MOSCOW, Idaho — A judge has rejected motions filed by , maintaining the state’s option to seek the death penalty in connection with the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.
Kohberger, who faces charges of burglary and first-degree murder, had filed several motions challenging Idaho’s capital punishment laws, . However, the court denied Kohberger’s defense team
According to court docs that were made public today, the judge made his decision, and the court reaffirmed the constitutionality of Idaho’s death penalty, citing previous rulings from the Idaho Supreme Court, which has consistently upheld the state’s capital punishment laws against claims that they violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
The court said that the Idaho Supreme Court had previously rejected the argument that the death penalty is inconsistent with evolving societal standards and said that a majority of U.S. states still permit capital punishment.
The defense had also argued that the methods of execution authorized in Idaho — lethal injection and, if unavailable, firing squad — are cruel and unconstitutional. Kohberger’s team pointed to concerns about the availability of lethal injection drugs and the potential suffering associated with the firing squad.
However, the court said that they found that the U.S. Supreme Court had upheld the methods of execution in Idaho and that Kohberger’s concerns were premature, as there is no current execution date or clear decision on the method, according to court docs.
Kohberger is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in Moscow in November 2022.
