Latest news with #DeathPenalty
Fox News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump weighs in on Bryan Kohberger's plea deal ahead of crucial Idaho murders sentencing
President Donald Trump waded into the "vicious" Idaho student murders case Monday with a post on Truth Social about Bryan Kohberger's upcoming sentencing, saying he hopes the judge requires some kind of explanation at Wednesday's hearing for the slayings of "four wonderful young souls." When Kohberger pleaded guilty earlier this month, he gave no motive or explanation while admitting to the home invasion stabbing deaths of four college students. "While Life Imprisonment is tough, it's certainly better than receiving the Death Penalty but, before Sentencing, I hope the Judge makes Kohberger, at a minimum, explain why he did these horrible murders," Trump wrote. "There are no explanations, there is no NOTHING." Trump echoed public surprise about the unexpected plea deal, which spares Kohberger from the potential death penalty in exchange for admitting to the crimes. He is expected to receive four consecutive terms of life imprisonment with no chance of parole, plus another 10 years, and has waived his right to appeal and to seek a sentence reduction. Critics have questioned why the deal didn't require him to explain himself. And the appeal waiver does not mean he won't have any chance to appeal, according to Judge Steven Hippler, who cited a Supreme Court case, Garza v. Idaho, that found defendants who waive their rights to appeal may still have a right to appeal. "People were shocked that he was able to plea bargain, but the Judge should make him explain what happened," Trump added. "Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Kohberger pleaded guilty to all charges on July 2, about two months before he would have gone to trial in Boise, Idaho. At the hearing, he admitted to sneaking into the off-campus home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, and killing four University of Idaho students inside, some of whom were asleep. The victims were 21-year-olds Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, as well as 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. They were all killed around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was studying for a Ph.D. in criminology at Washington State University, about 10 miles away over the state line. He could have faced capital punishment, and Idaho had recently taken steps to bring back the firing squad as a result of difficulties with lethal injection as a viable option. The victims' families were split over the plea deal, with some welcoming a chance to move past the murders. Goncalves' family, notably, had been hoping for the most severe punishment and pleaded with the judge to at least require an explanation before accepting the deal. According to court documents, DNA from a knife sheath left at the crime scene matched Kohberger's, and cellphone data placed him near the victims' house multiple times before the killings. Surveillance footage also captured a white Hyundai Elantra in the area. Kohberger's official sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
Fox News
27-06-2025
- Fox News
Bryan Kohberger murder trial pushed back one week but defense's delay motion denied
The trial of Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in a brutal stabbing attack, has been pushed back by one week, according to an amended scheduling order filed in Idaho's Fourth Judicial District Court. The new order Thursday says that public jury selection will begin on August 4, but opening statements are now expected on August 18, one week later than the previously anticipated start date on August 11. It replaces the previously anticipated August 4 date for the start of jury selection, instead setting aside July 28 through August 1 for sealed proceedings involving the court and attorneys. "An amended scheduling order filed today in State v. Kohberger sets new expected dates for public jury selection and for the start of the trial," the order states. Nate Poppino, a spokesperson for the Idaho court, confirmed to Fox News Digital that the updated timeline was not the result of any attempt by the defense to delay the proceedings, but rather an internal scheduling adjustment by the court. Poppino said the court determined that more time was needed for jury selection, which will start as planned on August 4. READ THE ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE The highlight anticipated murder trial has faced delays since Kohberger was arrested in Dec. 2022. He initially waived his right to a speedy preliminary hearing, pushing that process to June 2023. The prosecution's decision to pursue the death penalty also added further complexity to the case. Since then, the defense has filed multiple pretrial motions, including their request to move the trial due to publicity. Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the November 2022 slayings of University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho. He has pleaded not guilty. Kohberger could face the death penalty if convicted. The court did not offer an estimated duration for the trial, only that proceedings would continue "until completed."
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Australian man could face the death penalty in Bali after allegedly smuggling more than 1.5kg of cocaine into the country
An Australian man has been arrested in Bali accused of smuggling more than 1.5kg of cocaine into Indonesia. He could face the death penalty.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pardon and Parole Board votes to deny clemency for death row inmate John Hanson
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted to deny clemency for death row inmate John Hanson on Wednesday, May 7. Officials say Hanson and an accomplice carjacked and kidnapped 77-year-old Mary Bowles in Tulsa in 1999. Before she was shot to death, Hanson and his accomplice shot Jerald Thurman, an innocent bystander. LOCAL NEWS: Police searching for suspects after shooting leaves one injured in NW OKC 'The families of Mary Bowles and Jerald Thurman have waited more than a quarter-century to see justice carried out against this callous murderer,' Drummond said. 'I appreciate the Pardon and Parole Board for rejecting clemency today. The Biden Administration protected this monster from justice for too long. Now is the time for him to atone for the pain and suffering he has wrought. Justice will be delivered when the death penalty is rightly served on June 12.' According to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Hanson was transferred from a Louisiana federal prison in March at his request. 'We heard that John Hanson is a changed man, a responsible and trustworthy member of his prison community and that he expresses remorse for the senseless murder of Mary Bowles. By refusing mercy, the State will now carry out the senseless killing of John Hanson.' responded Rev. Don Heath, Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Chair. Hanson's execution date is set for June 12, 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Oklahoma City.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Finally, a legal victory against the death penalty
Kansas District Court Judge Bill Klapper is no one's idea of a liberal anti-death penalty activist, having been originally appointed to fill a vacancy on the bench by Gov. Sam Brownback (R) in 2013. But on April 17, Klapper handed down a stunning indictment of his state's death penalty that would make any abolitionist proud. It is as comprehensive a criticism as has ever handed down from the bench, and highlights a path forward for what I call 'death penalty swing states.' Those states have the death penalty on the books but no longer execute anyone — and there are lots of them. Some are red states like Kansas and Ohio; some, like California, are deep blue. All of them are stuck in a kind of death penalty limbo. In Kansas, as the Death Penalty Information center notes, the practice 'has been abolished and reinstated three times' since 1907. No execution has been carried out there since 1965, and no one has received a death sentence since 2016. Currently, there are nine people awaiting execution in the Jayhawk state. In October 2024, two people, Antoine Fielder and Hugo Villanueva, brought forward a suit claiming that the Kansas death penalty 'constitutes a legally prohibited cruel and unusual punishment' and violates both the state and federal constitutions. They argued that it 'has outlived any conceivable use … [and] is imperfect in its application, haphazard in its result, and of negligible utility.' At hearings convened by Klapper, American Civil Liberties Union lawyers representing Fielder and Villanueva presented testimony from a series of nationally known death penalty experts about racial and gender bias, problems in jury selection, the death penalty's economic costs, and whether it deters. They also put forth a 'targeted challenge to a unique aspect of capital trials known as death qualification,' according to public radio — 'a rule requiring that anyone serving on a capital jury must believe state execution is a valid form of punishment.' 'Under death qualification,' the report states, 'a juror who says they oppose the death penalty on principle is automatically struck. Critics say the practice is discriminatory because some types of people are more likely to be excluded from juries than others.' The ACLU contends that 'This practice disproportionately discriminates against Black people, women, and people of faith.' The state cross-examined the expert witnesses but offered no experts of its own. And it argued there was 'no longer a case for the court to consider' since 'the death penalty cannot be a possible punishment' for either of the defendants, and 'the proper way to abolish the death penalty would be to urge legislators to change or repeal the law itself.' Ultimately, Klapper was convinced that 'a defendant may not challenge the constitutionality of a statute … if it does not affect him but may conceivably be applied unconstitutionally in other circumstances.' But what looked like a defeat for Fielder and Villanueva was a total victory for death penalty abolitionists. The judge incorporated the expert testimony almost verbatim, calling it 'decidedly persuasive and well-reasoned.' Klapper's opinion put aside the 'moral issues' surrounding the death penalty, focusing instead on the very issues the ACLU had highlighted. Starting with capital punishment's financial costs, he found that, across the nation, capital cases cost on average '$700,000 more than non-capital cases.' In Kansas alone, 'More than $4 million has been spent with the results being no death penalty sentences and zero executions.' Beyond their costliness, Klapper determined that 'The factors which distinguish death sentence cases from non-death sentence cases are the race and gender of the victim, and the race and gender of the defendant.' Murder cases involving white and female victims, the judge found, are much more likely to result in capital prosecutions. And, if that were not enough, Klapper concluded that 'The scientific community has found no reliable evidence of the death penalty being a deterrent to homicides.' Throughout, his opinion is pragmatic rather than ideological; it offers people in death penalty swing states a way forward by emphasizing the fairness of the death penalty process and its costs and benefits. As Klapper puts it, they should question the 'propriety' of keeping a death penalty as a possible punishment when the state will 'never impose it.' Austin Sarat is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
