Idaho prosecutors ask a judge to reject defense arguments against the possibility of the death penalty in Brian Koberger's quadruple murder trial and invite outside experts to testify on constitutional issues surrounding seeking the death penalty. He asked that his request be withdrawn.
Koberger's defense team, led by Ann Taylor and Elisa Massos, made numerous demands that went beyond established precedent, prosecutors said in a series of filings released over the past week. I mentioned it inside.
The 29-year-old's lawyers also argued that the state had no “feasible method” to carry out the death penalty and did not have enough time to properly prepare the case against him.
“The gist of the defendant's argument is that the aggravating factors applicable in a capital murder case must be presented to a grand jury,” Special Assistant Attorney General Jeff Nye and Lutter County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson wrote. “His claims are directly contradicted by binding Idaho Supreme Court precedent.”
Trial date for alleged University of Idaho murderer Brian Koberger postponed
Brian Koberger (right) is escorted into the courtroom for a hearing in Lutter County District Court on September 13, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
They include a probable cause affidavit in the superseding indictment stating that the state intends to seek the death penalty within 60 days of arraignment upon the judge's not guilty plea to all charges. He wrote that he had fulfilled his legal obligation by notifying the defense. in his place.
It added that under the law, there is no need to include further probable cause for each “aggravating circumstance” that led to the death penalty being sought.
They also argued that Koberger was under the Eighth Amendment, which says the death penalty can be cruel or unusual punishment if prosecutors seek it without consulting a “neutral fact finder.” rejected the claim.
In a separate filing, Thompson asked the judge to deny the defense's request for expert testimony on the death penalty option.
Madison Morgen, top left, poses with Ethan Chapin, Zana Kernodle and two other housemates in Gonsalves' last Instagram post, which was shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. , smiling on the shoulder of her best friend Kaylee Gonsalves. . (@kayleegoncalves/Instagram)
Citing Ybarra v. Bedke, Thompson said in the court filing, “It is now well established in Idaho that 'testimony by expert witnesses containing conclusions of law is generally inadmissible.'” written in document. “As the Idaho Supreme Court explained, 'When an expert witness presents a legal conclusion, he or she intrudes into the realm of the court to determine the applicable law.'”
Brian Koberger's lawyers oppose the death penalty
Last month, defense attorneys attacked the possibility of the death penalty on a variety of grounds, ranging from “modern standards of decency” to alleged violations of international law.
They argue that Idaho's two legal methods of execution, lethal injection and firing squad, violate both the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and that firing squads “were never constitutional.” insisted.
Brian Koberger's attorneys Ann Taylor (left), Elissa Massos (center), and Jay Logsdon arrive at the Lutter County Courthouse on June 27, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. (Derek Schock, FOX News Digital)
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After Idaho reinstated firing squads last year, one of the nation's leading death penalty experts, Fordham Law School professor Deborah Denno, told Fox News Digital that the method was better than lethal injection, which has been a fiasco in recent years. He said it was also much more humane.
“The firing squad is the fastest, most reliable, most infallible, and the only technique available to skilled, trained professionals,” she said at the time.
In fact, she added, if death row inmates were given a choice, most would seek a bullet rather than an injection.
Police raided the home where four University of Idaho students were killed in a weekend quadruple murder in Moscow, Idaho, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. The victim is Ethan Chapin, 20, of Conway, Washington. Madison Morgen, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Zana Karnodol, 20, of Avondale, Idaho. Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum, Idaho. (Derek Schock, FOX News Digital)
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Investigators said cell phone communications showed Koberger was near the home on the day of the incident, and they tracked Koberger's vehicle throughout the area. However, the defense argued that he was not near the house where the murder took place and that he had been driving around cold mountain roads in the dark because he liked to “look at the moon and stars.”
Koburger is Studying abroad in Washington State University in Pullman, Washington at the time of the murder. The school is located just 16 miles across state lines from the crime scene and just off the University of Idaho campus in Moscow, Idaho.
Brian Koberger is currently in custody at the Ada County Sheriff's Office, according to online jail records. (Ada County Sheriff's Office)
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On November 13, 2022, a stabbing occurred during a 4 a.m. home invasion that killed Madison Morgen, 21, Kaylee Gonsalves, 21, Zana Karnodol, 20, and Ethan Chapin. Four university students, Mr. (20 years old), died.
Police found a Ka-Bar knife sheath under Morgen's body. Koberger's DNA With a snap.
Koberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony robbery.
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A hearing on the death penalty issue was scheduled for November 7th.
Koberger's defense argued for a change of venue earlier this year, moving his trial from Lutter County, where he has been incarcerated since January 2023, to Ada County, where his trial is scheduled for next year. It was very successful.
FOX News' Audrey Conklin and Greg Wenner contributed to this report.
