Bryan Kohberger fights to remove death penalty from case

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) — Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November of 2022, appeared in a Boise courtroom on Thursday. His lawyers are trying to take the death penalty off the table, bringing quite a lot of arguments to the court.

Kohberger was allowed to appear in street clothes after a motion came unopposed to Judge Steven Hippler.

Much of the morning centered around the defense claiming there is no effective method to execute Idaho death row inmates properly. They say it would be unjust to try Kohberger for the death penalty because of how it may affect a person.

“When somebody sits on death row and there's no real means of executing them, that is dehumanizing to that person,” Kohberger attorney, Ann Taylor, said in court. “It's a lethal injection unless it's not available, and then it's going to be the firing squad. But the way that's written is that it's firing squad unless the department, the director of the Department of Corrections says I have the chemicals and we can do lethal injection. Understanding what a person is conscious and aware of when they face the firing squad. That's information that's important for the court when considering whether or not to strike the death penalty.”

“To be fair, the Supreme Court just ruled that that anxiety and fear in the Creech case was not sufficient to preclude his execution just this week,” Judge Hippler said.

Several other motions were filed by the defense in an effort to strike down the death penalty as well.

Hippler would consider these arguments and decide later whether or not to strike the death penalty.

Kohberger's jury trial is set to start in Ada County on August 11, 2025.

This story is developing and will be updated later today.