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By Hannah Parry
Associate News Editor
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Bryan Kohberger's autism diagnosis will not stop him from facing the death penalty if convicted in his quadruple murder trial, a judge ruled on Thursday.
Newsweek reached out to Kohberger's lawyers via email for comment on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Kohberger is accused of fatally stabbing University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20, in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
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The 30-year-old Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary. He has pleaded not guilty and is set to stand trial in August.
What To Know
Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler ruled on Thursday that Kohberger's attorneys had failed to prove that his autism spectrum disorder was equivalent to an intellectual disability.
He added that autism may be a "mitigating factor to be weighed against the aggravating factors" in deciding whether to impose the death penalty, but it doesn't solely disqualify him, The Idaho Statesman reported.
Kohberger's lead attorney Anne Taylor had argued in a motion last month that the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002 ruling, which held it is unconstitutional to execute individuals with an intellectual disability, should be expanded to include people with autism.
His legal team argued that autistic people are at higher risk of being wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Attorney Elisa Massoth warned that jurors "will watch his every move and pass judgment on him every minute of the jury trial simply based on how he looks and reacts."
The defense team warned that Kohberger's behaviors are "highly consistent" with autism but could be misinterpreted by jurors unfamiliar with the disorder who could "cast them in a more sinister light," the New York Post reported last month.
The motion was the latest in a series of attempts by the defense to prevent their client from being sentenced to death. Other arguments included that capital punishment violates international law and the U.S. Constitution.
What People Are Saying
Hippler said in court last year that the death penalty is "consistent with contemporary standards of decency."
Kohberger's legal team wrote in court filings: "Mr. 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."
Taylor said in court last year: "I don't believe our Constitution allows for us to move forward and make him sit on death row for years and years and years if the way Idaho is doing it right now isn't really working. It's not a realistic option, I think, to have him sit on death row and say Idaho's going to figure out how to kill you at some point in the future in a way that isn't cruel and unusual and a violation of rights."
What Happens Next?
The jury trial is scheduled to begin August 11 at the Ada County Courthouse in Idaho and expected to last until November.
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