University of Idaho Murder Suspect Bryan Kohberger Seeks to Overturn Death Sentence

The defense of Bryan Kohberger, a suspect in a quadruple murder at the University of Idaho, is seeking to overturn the death penalty in his case.

On Thursday, Kohberger’s defense filed more than a dozen motions seeking to overturn the aggravating factors and the death sentence itself.

The documents also claim that the means by which the death penalty is carried out in Idaho are unconstitutional, stating that “executing Mr. Kohberger by lethal injection or gunshot, as the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) has designed, would violate his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment and his right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

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Other documents claim that Idaho’s death penalty violates international law and human rights, and that “there has been an ideological shift (in the United States) and the penalty now violates our contemporary standards of decency.”

Kohberger’s defense also claims that “Idaho’s statutory and constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial precludes effective assistance of counsel in capital cases” and that “a death penalty case cannot be prepared in 10 months.”

Kohberger is accused of the brutal murders of Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Kaylee Goncalves at their rental home near the University of Idaho. Six weeks after they were stabbed to death, Kohberger was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.

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His trial is expected to begin in June 2025.

For months, Kohberger’s attorneys have been fighting to have his trial moved from Latah County to Ada County, where Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell were tried. After a hearing last week, Judge John Judge is now considering whether to move the trial.

According to court documents, Judge Judge will hear arguments on the death penalty challenge on November 7.

This story was originally published by Ivy Brown on Court Television.