An Idaho judge was not swayed by the argument accused killer Bryan Kohberger should be spared the death penalty because he was diagnosed with autism.
Judge Steven Hippler issued his decision Thursday after Kohberger’s attorneys ask he be spared if he is convicted of the brutal, predawn slaying in 2022 of four University of Idaho students. Prosecutors have informed the Court they intend to seek the death penalty.
According to the Associated Press, Defense attorneys argued Kohberger’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) “reduces his culpability, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death.”
Bryan Kohberger, left, in his senior photo from the 2012-13 yearbook for Pleasant Valley High School in Brodheadsville, Pennsylvania. (Kevin Fixler/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
They also argued it could be considered cruel and unusual punishment, which is outlawed by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Kohberger is a former criminology Ph.D. student charged with applying his knowledge of police work to get away with the murders.
Investigators say he was cogent enough to turn off his phone before driving home and change his license plates days after the killings to avoid detection. Authorities have reported they found Kohberger’s DNA on a knife sheath under one of the victim’s body.
Judge Hippler wasn’t swayed by the defense argument. He wrote in his ruling:
“Not only has Defendant failed to show that ASD is equivalent to an intellectual disability for death penalty exemption purposes, he has not shown there is national consensus against subjecting individuals with ASD to capital punishment. ASD may be mitigating factor to be weighed against the aggravating factors in determining if defendant should receive the death penalty, but it is not (a) death-penalty disqualifier.”
Kohberger, 30, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Madison Mogen, 21; Kaylee Goncalves, 21; Xana Kernodle, 20; and Ethan Chapin, 20. They all were stabbed to death at an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, at about 4 a.m. Nov. 13, 2022.
Not guilty pleas were entered on Kohberger’s behalf in May of 2023. But the trial is expected to begin this August. Kohberger waived his right to speedy trial and the Court has been dealing with a slew of pretrial motions.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other novels and crime nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more
