Attorneys for Idaho murders suspect Bryan Kohberger are fighting to strike the death penalty in his high-profile case, arguing that the state has “no real means” of executing a convicted prisoner and that the so-called methods – which include an “inhumane” firing squad as an alternative – are “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional.”
Kohberger, 29, a former Washington State University criminology student who is accused of slaughtering four University of Idaho students at their off-campus home in November 2022, could be sentenced to death if convicted of the murders at his trial next summer.
The case of the shocking slayings that rattled the small town of Moscow was recently moved to Boise after the defense successfully argued that Kohberger would not have an impartial jury in the tight-knit community because of the extensive media coverage potentially tainting the jury pool.
Dressed in a dark suit, blue shirt and tie, Kohberger appeared in Ada County courtroom on Thursday with his defense team, who argued that their client could face death by firing squad if convicted under Idaho law, due to the shortage of lethal injection drugs across the country.