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The 28-year-old grad student accused of stalking and murdering four college kids in Idaho could face a firing squad following the state’s decision to pass a bill aimed at reviving the controversial punishment earlier this week.
Only nixed in 2009, the execution method is now back on the table in the Gem State – as the case surrounding alleged Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger has attracted the ire of millions across the country.
The murder suspect is currently facing the death penalty for the November murders of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ehan Chapin, and Xana Kernodle, after being arrested at his parent’s home in Pennsylvania.
Kohberger, who was pursuing his PhD at nearby Washington State University before his arrest in January, is now back in Idaho where he is being kept in isolation far from other inmates given the depravity of his alleged crimes.
Bryan Kohberger, 28, may face death by firing squad if he is found guilty of murdering four University of Idaho college students
Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Ehan 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 meeting Monday to debate the GOP-backed bill and voted overwhelmingly to bring the punishment back, with 24 out of 35 lawmakers motioning in its favor.
The bill’s Republican sponsor, State Senator Bruce Skaug, spoke to Fox News Tuesday to confirm the passing of House Bill 186, which passed the State House of Representatives earlier this month
It gives authorities the option to order a death by firing squad, only if lethal injection drugs are unavailable within five days of a death warrant being issued.
‘H186 has now passed the Idaho Senate and House with a veto proof majority,’ said Skaug, explaining that the guidance will now make its way to Governor Brad Little’s desk for final approval.
‘Upon signature of the governor, the state may now more likely carry out justice, as determined by our judicial system, against those who have committed first degree murder,’ Skaug said
‘This is an important bill for victims, their families, and the rule of law.’
While not referencing Kohberger’s alleged crimes directly, the senator’s words come as attention surrounding the suspected killer’s case – and his prospective punishment – has hit a head.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, a Republican from Nampa, championed 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 the execution, only saying the director of the IDOC would determine the procedures used in the execution.
While the punishment has its detractors, Skaug for months argued in its favor, saying he believed the option is more humane than lethal injection, citing how recent instances of the shot resulting in agonizing pain for doomed inmates.
The lawmaker also recently pointed out to the Idaho Capital Sun that other states like Utah have brought back the use of a firing squad in recent years due to their inability to get the lethal injection chemicals.
Other states to bring back the punishment include Mississippi, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, with Idaho legalizing it in 1982 before eventually doing away with it in 2009, leaving lethal injection as the only legal form of execution in the state.
Supporters of the guidance such as Skaug argued that bringing back the bill makes sense as of late, as acquiring the chemicals used in lethal injection become increasingly difficult.
Last year, the legislature passed a bill allowing any company or pharmacy that provided the chemicals used in lethal injection with anonymity in hopes that more companies and pharmacies would be willing to contract with the legislature to provide the necessary ingredients.
Still, in November, the Idaho Department of Corrections was forced to cancel the scheduled execution of Gerald Pizzuto Jr when it could not obtain the chemicals necessary to carry out the execution.
The bill passed the senate on Monday, 24 to 11 and will now make its way to Governor Brad Little’s desk for final approval before being made an official law
Prosecutors have laid out in charging documents how Kohberger stalked his alleged victims’ off-campus home in Moscow for weeks before the murders and kept multiple photos of one of one of the female students on his phone.
Some of his former friends have even told FBI and state investigators how Kohberger changed both physically and emotionally in his senior year of high school — even apparently getting a tummy tuck.
Prosecutors have laid out in court documents how Kohberger turned off his phone on the night of the murders in an alleged attempt to cover his tracks before brutally stabbing the four college students.
He is even alleged to have returned to the scene of the crime at 9am on November 13 — just hours after police believe he committed the quadruple homicide.
The probable cause document then goes on to say that the criminal justice graduate stalked the property at least 12 times, and his DNA was found on a knife sheath close to the bodies of Maddie Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
An ensuing investigation of Kohberger’s apartment at Washington State University later found several hair strands, including one suspected animal hair, a black glove, a computer tower and one unidentified item with a collection of ‘dark red spots.’
Police said they also hauled away a pillow with a ‘reddish/brown stain’ on it and the top and bottom of a mattress cover with ‘multiple stains’.
All the items are now being stored at the Washington State University Police department.
A motive for the brutal killings remains unclear – and Kohberger is currently being kept isolated 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 roughing it – and has reportedly been allowed amenities such his own television as he is kept away from other accused and convicted criminals.
His is not set to appear in in court until June 26 and has not yet entered a plea – but his lawyer in December said he was ‘eager to be exonerated.’
He is being held without bail until then.
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