The 28-year-old student, who is accused of stalking and murdering four college kids in Idaho, could face a firing squad after the state’s decision to pass legislation earlier this week to revive the controversial punishment.
Failed until 2009, the method of execution is now back on the table in Gem state — as the case of alleged Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger has drawn the ire of millions across the country.
The murder suspect is currently facing the death penalty for the murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle after he was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania.
Kohberger, who was doing his PhD at nearby Washington State University before his arrest in January, is now back in Idaho, where he is being kept far from other inmates in isolation given the depravity of his alleged crimes.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, faces death by firing squad if found guilty of murdering four University of Idaho college students
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Xana Kernodle were allegedly killed by Kohberger, who was arrested in January and is now being held in solitary confinement
The Idaho State Senate held a session Monday to discuss the GOP-backed bill and voted overwhelmingly to reintroduce the punishment, with 24 out of 35 lawmakers in favor.
The bill’s Republican sponsor, Senator Bruce Skaug, spoke to Fox News on Tuesday to confirm passage of House Bill 186, which passed the state’s House of Representatives earlier this month
It gives authorities the power to order a death by firing squad only if lethal injectable drugs are not available within five days of a death sentence being issued.
“H186 has now passed the Idaho Senate and House of Representatives with a veto-proof majority,” Skaug said, explaining that the guidance will now make its way to Gov. Brad Little’s desk for final approval.
“Following the governor’s signature, the state is now more likely to proceed, as determined by our justice system, against those who have committed first-degree murder,” Skaug said
“This is an important law for the victims, their families and the rule of law.”
Though Kohberger’s alleged crimes aren’t directly mentioned, the senator’s words come as attention surrounding the alleged killer’s case — and his likely punishment — hit a head.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, a Nampa Republican, lobbied for a bill to reinstate firing squads as a legal alternative to lethal injection in death penalty cases
The bill does not specify how many or what type of firearms should be used in execution, only saying that the director of IDOC would determine the methods used in execution.
While the punishment has its detractors, Skaug argued in its favor for months, saying he believes the option is more humane than lethal injection, citing how recent instances of the gunshot have resulted in excruciating pain for doomed inmates.
Lawmakers recently pointed out to the Idaho Capital Sun that other states like Utah have reintroduced the use of firing squads in recent years because of their inability to source the deadly injection chemicals.
Other states reintroducing punishment include Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, with Idaho legalizing it in 1982 before finally abolishing it in 2009, leaving lethal injection the only legal form of execution in the state.
Proponents of the directive, like Skaug, have argued that recently it made sense to bring the law back as the chemicals used in lethal injection are becoming increasingly difficult to source.
Last year lawmakers passed legislation granting anonymity to any company or pharmacy that provided the chemicals used in lethal injection, in the hope that more companies and pharmacies would be willing to sign a deal with lawmakers to provide the necessary ingredients.
Still, in November, the Idaho Department of Justice was forced to cancel the scheduled execution of Gerald Pizzuto Jr. because it could not obtain the chemicals needed to carry out the execution.
The bill passed the Senate on Monday, 24-11 and will now make its way to Gov. Brad Little’s desk for final approval before being turned into official law
Prosecutors have detailed in indictment documents how Kohberger tracked the home of his alleged victims off campus in Moscow for weeks prior to the killings and kept several photos of one of the students on his phone.
Some of his former friends have even told the FBI and state investigators how Kohberger transformed both physically and emotionally during his senior year of high school — apparently even having a tummy tuck.
Prosecutors have detailed in court documents how Kohberger turned off his phone on the night of the killings, allegedly to cover his tracks, before brutally stabbing the four college students.
He is even said to have returned to the scene at 9am on November 13 – just hours after police believe he committed the quadruple murders.
The probable cause document then goes on to say that the criminal justice graduate haunted the property at least 12 times and his DNA was found on a knife sheath near the bodies of Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
A subsequent examination of Kohberger’s Washington State University apartment later found several strands of hair, including what was suspected to be an animal hair, a black glove, a computer tower, and an unidentified item with a collection of “dark red stains.”
Police said they also hauled away a pillow with a “reddish/brown stain” and the top and bottom of a mattress cover with “multiple stains”.
All items are now stored at the Washington State University Police Department.
A motive for the brutal killings remains unclear — and Kohberger is currently being held in isolation from other inmates in an Idaho for his safety, a former FBI agent recently told Newsweek.
Despite being in solitary confinement, however, Kohberger is far from rough it – and has reportedly been granted perks like his own TV as he is kept away from other accused and convicted criminals.
He is not expected to appear in court before June 26 and has yet to file a lawsuit – but his lawyer said in December he was “eager to be exonerated”.
Until then, he is being held without bail.