​Judge Rules Death Penalty Still an Option for Bryan Kohberger Despite Autism Diagnosis

In a significant legal decision, an Idaho judge has ruled that prosecutors can pursue the death penalty against Bryan Kohberger if he is convicted of the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. This decision comes despite Kohberger’s recent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).​

Kohberger, 30, is accused of fatally stabbing Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves at an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho, on November 13, 2022. His defence team argued that his ASD diagnosis should exempt him from capital punishment, citing the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. They contended that ASD reduces his culpability and increases the risk of a wrongful conviction.​

However, Judge Steven Hippler determined that ASD does not qualify as an intellectual disability, which is the only mental impairment recognised by the U.S. Supreme Court as a disqualifier for the death penalty. The judge stated that while ASD could be considered a mitigating factor during sentencing, it does not categorically exempt someone from capital punishment.​

Prosecutors have indicated their intention to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted. Key evidence includes DNA allegedly found on a knife sheath at the crime scene. Kohberger, a former criminology Ph.D. student, has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled to begin on August 11, 2025.​

This ruling underscores the complexities of integrating mental health considerations into capital punishment cases and sets a precedent for how ASD diagnoses are treated in the context of the death penalty.​