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By Sophie Clark
Live News Reporter
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Bryan Kohberger should not face the death penalty if found guilty of murder due to his autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis, his defense team said.
In a recently unsealed motion, his lead defense lawyer, Anne Taylor, asked for the death penalty to be removed from his potential sentencing, as she said it would violate the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
Newsweek has contacted Taylor for comment via email.
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Why It Matters
Kohberger has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary following the fatal stabbings of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022.
Although Kohberger's team pleaded not guilty on his behalf, the move by Taylor shows that they are concerned about what punishment he may face if found guilty. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty.
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What To Know
Kohberger was charged with the killings in which four students were stabbed in a house at 1122 King Road after his DNA was found on a knife sheath at the house. Kohberger's trial is due to begin in August in Boise.
At the time of the killings, Kohberger, a Pennsylvania native, was studying for his Ph.D. in criminology at Washington State University's campus in Pullman, Washington, less than eight miles from Moscow.
Taylor argued in the fillings that Kohberger's autism diagnosis is covered by the 2002 Atkins v. Virginia U.S. Supreme Court ruling that people with intellectual disabilities cannot be executed for a crime, as it would violate the Eighth Amendment.
However, autism is not classified an intellectual disability, and although it can be coupled with other neurological conditions, it is unclear whether Kohberger's diagnosis would qualify him for protection from the death penalty.
Taylor has argued that the ruling applies in Kohberger's case because his condition has made it difficult for him to communicate with his legal team. When asked in court how he would plead last year, Kohberger was silent and did not answer the question, leaving his legal team to issue the not guilty plea for him.
She said in the motion: "There is little doubt that this reality will overpower any mitigating arguments based on ASD [autism spectrum disorder] as a matter of course, amounting to an unconstitutional risk that Mr. Kohberger—on account of his disability—will be unreliably convicted and sentenced to death."
The motion is one of many sealed motions written by Kohberger's legal team. They have filed so many that 4th District Judge Steven Hippler wrote a court order asking them to stop. He said they are violating the public's First Amendment right to freedom of the press.
Kohberger's defense hinges largely on DNA—his and that of others. His legal team is arguing that his DNA was illegally collected by the FBI, and that other DNA was found at the property that has not been investigated and was not sent by police to the FBI's DNA database or to the magistrate judge as they did not fit the eligibility requirements.
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What People Are Saying
Attorney Anne Taylor, in the court filings: "Mr. Kohberger's ASD prevents him from being sentenced to death in a manner that accords with the constitutional requirements of proportionality and reliability. Like juveniles and people with disabilities, he is insufficiently culpable to be sentenced to death, the aims of deterrence and retribution will not be satisfied by his execution, and he faces an unacceptable risk that the death penalty will be imposed in spite of factors which may call for a less severe penalty."
What Happens Next
The court has not yet responded to the motion.
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