Brian Koberger, accused of killing four University of Idaho students in 2022, could receive the death penalty, a judge ruled Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Ada County Judge Stephen Hippler denied their motion in a ruling.
“The court concludes that none of the claims warrant relief in favor of the defendants,” Hippler wrote in his 55-page order.
Prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty if Koberger is convicted.
Mr. Hippler pointed out the constitutionality of the death penalty in the United States, looking back at the time when the Idaho Supreme Court upheld the death penalty.
Koberger's defense attorneys have long called for the death penalty to be abolished if the 29-year-old is convicted.
His defense attorney, Jay Logsdon, had previously argued that the death penalty violates “modern standards of decency.”
Logsdon has previously argued that support for the death penalty is “bleak,” pointing to the 24 states that allow the death penalty.
“In practice, fewer than half of states still use the death penalty, either through legislative or executive action,” he wrote.
“Support for the death penalty is even bleaker when you consider the populations of these states.”
Koberger is accused of stabbing a University of Idaho student to death in November 2022 at a residence near the university's campus in Moscow.
Koberger stabbed four University of Idaho students Kaylee Gonsalves, 21, Madison Morgen, 21, Zana Karnodol, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, to death. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of robbery in connection with the incident. .
In Idaho, a person is subject to the death penalty only if they are convicted of first-degree murder or conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Fox News Digital's Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
