Just how many people do you have to kill to receive the death penalty?
In Wednesday’s news:
Bryan Kohberger Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole for Murdering Four Idaho College Students
The convicted multiple killer will likely be sent to Idaho’s only maximum-security prison[.]
30-year-old Bryan Kohberger was unacquainted with his victims, Xana Kernodle, Ethan Chapman, both just 20, and Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, both just 21, whom he stabbed to death in their beds on Nov. 13, 2022. Two other roommates in the home were left unharmed.
Actually, “stabbed to death in their beds” is an over-simplification. Very few public accounts of the murders have provided details of just how horrendous the victims’ wounds were; some of the victims had been rendered “unrecognizable.”
And there’s still no definitive word as to his motive for the grisly killings, although some have speculated that, as he was fascinated by—and was pursuing a doctorate in—criminology, he wanted to prove that he could get away with it.
It took six weeks of investigation that examined cellphone and e-mail records, surveillance footage and DNA evidence to identify Kohberger as a suspect and track him down to his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was taken into custody on Dec. 30, 2022 and extradited to Idaho a few days later. His trial was scheduled and re-scheduled, and finally canceled on June 30 of this year, when he took a deal from prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty and waive his right to appeal.
His sentence was handed down July 23, so it was more than two-and-a-half years from the crime that he finally faced justice. But justice, it turns out, can be a relative term.
Idaho: Among other distinctions, it’s the only state where the main method of execution is the firing squad! Under current law, lethal injection is an alternative method. (What, in case the firing squad is somehow ineffective?)
That should give a pretty good idea of what Idaho thinks of convicted murderers. However, in light of this case, one has to wonder: In Idaho (of all places!) “Just how many people do you have to viciously murder in order to actually receive the death penalty?” If four isn’t enough, what is?
Before he changed his plea to “Guilty,” Kohberger’s attorneys planned to argue that their client had ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), which caused him to fixate on certain topics, have trouble processing information, and “demonstrate little insight into his own behaviors and emotions.” Because of this, it was claimed that his execution would constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.” (Oh, boo-hoo! Pass me a crying towel!) But that’s not the real reason the murderer was offered a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table.
I’ve thought a lot about the death penalty, and its value as a deterrent. At the very least, it damn sure deters that particular murderer from ever committing murder again!
And, for those merely contemplating murder, I believe it’s a far better deterrent than life in prison without parole.
I happen to think that the prospect of being sentenced, as Kohberger just was, to four consecutive lifetimes of climate-controlled accommodations, three square meals a day, free medical and dental care, free laundry service (clothing and bedding), TV access, library access, computer access, gymnasium access, and perhaps even conjugal visits (there’s no shortage of women out there who are in thrall to convicted murderers; some even marry them!) and even celebrity status among one’s fellow prisoners is, for many, not all that much of a deterrent!
Anyway, I’ve also written about it. I addressed the question of whether our justice system is still capable of deterring killers here, and an essay I wrote back in November on how bloody murder is currently not deterred, but even incentivized, may be read here.
My old friend (and fellow American Thinker contributor) Lt. Col. Damian Housman, USAF (Ret.) has chimed in on this as follows:
If he were sentenced to death there would be dozens of appeals that would take from 20 to 40 years to run out. He might or might not actually be executed. This way saves the state a lot of money and he won’t be anything more than a prisoner. One thing President Trump may do is to shorten the time from conviction to execution in the federal system, and encourage states to do the same.
I think my friend has nailed it as to why this monster avoided facing a firing squad and being made an example for anyone considering committing bloody murder. Such an example should make an impression even in (boo-hoo! again) emotionally challenged persons. But the prosecutors chose to craft a deal that would let Kohberger die of old age at taxpayer expense, ostensibly to save those same taxpayers the far greater expense of years and years of appeals, that ultimately benefit only defense lawyers while postponing any closure that might be achieved by the victims’ loved ones.
And the prosecutors who make such deals still believe they’re serving justice; I disagree. The fault in our justice system is that it’s not nearly as swift nor sure as it ought to be.
Author’s Note: Stu Tarlowe is a septuagenarian who has been contributing to American Thinker since 2010. He also posts on Stu’s Stack o’ Stuff. He’s even been paid to write (!), and would do it again should the opportunity be offered.
Image from Grok.