Will Bryan Kohberger Face Death? Court Hearing Next

In just a few days, a court hearing will decide if the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students could face the death penalty. The hearing is happening a week before the campus marks two years since the tragic event. The judge will listen to arguments from both sides in Boise, where the trial starts in August. The prosecutors think Kohberger, who turns 30 this month, should get the death penalty because the crime was severe and he might be dangerous in the future. They also say he didn't care about human life. The defense, however, argues that executing him by lethal injection would be cruel and unusual punishment. They want the jury to decide if he's eligible for the death penalty in a separate phase after the trial. The defense also says that the state's claim about Kohberger being a future threat doesn't fit the rules for deciding who gets the death penalty.

Idaho hasn't used the death penalty in a while because they had trouble getting the right drugs. But now they have them and even made a law allowing execution by firing squad. Their first attempt to use the new method failed last February, showing how hard it is to carry out the death penalty. Kohberger was arrested over a month after the students were killed. He was living nearby in Washington and studying at Washington State University. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The trial was moved to Boise because the defense thought there might be bias among potential jurors in Latah County.

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