Posted on 07/31/2025 10:02:36 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four life sentences without the possibility of parole on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to the murders of four University of Idaho students in 2022.
The surviving roommates and families of the victims delivered emotional statements at the sentencing hearing, held in a courtroom in Boise. When given the opportunity to speak, Kohberger declined to do so.
Kohberger pleaded guilty earlier this month to the murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves as part of a plea deal that spared him from the death penalty. He was in the courtroom Wednesday wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and listened as the families of the victims confronted him with powerful statements. The hearing lasted about three hours, with more than a dozen family impact statements read aloud.
Chapin, Kernodle, Mogen and Goncalves were killed at a home in Moscow, Idaho, during the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested at his parents' home in Pennsylvania six weeks later. Prosecutors said that if the case had gone to trial they would have used DNA evidence that linked Kohberger to the crime scene, his online purchase history, surveillance video of Kohberger's car, and cellphone data that showed him in the vicinity of the killings. His motive is still unknown.
Judge Steven Hippler spoke emotionally for several minutes before sentencing Kohberger. He called Kohberger a "faceless coward" and said he was in "great awe" of the family members who had given statements. He also criticized Kohberger for failing to show remorse or regret about the slayings. He said he could not legally force Kohberger to explain why he had committed the slayings, and said he did not believe Kohberger would answer the question truthfully either way.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
This news is from eight days ago. I did not see any other articles on FR about his sentencing.
I wish I wasn’t so “elderly”. I’d love to bet that the boy will be walking the streets again in 8 to 10 years.
I bet he will meet prison justce soon.
He's evil - and he gets a turn-on by being evil - that's his 'motive'.
I’m not satisfied.
If THIS doesn’t deserve the death penalty, then nothing does.
“sentenced to 4 life terms in prison without parole”
out in 5 because . . . just because.
the excuse list will be very long indeed.
I'm sure the "insanity" defense is in the works. It will be readily accepted, as usual.
The rationale is always, "this crime was so heinous and illogical, only an insane person could do it."
I’d love to bet that the boy will be walking the streets again in 8 to 10 years.
Stoke the fires of Hell......cuz that follower of Satan is on his way soon! ....imho
That phrase really hacks me off in any crime article. Often the motive is well known but not acknowledged, i.e., islam. Ofte the motive is completely unknown, is unknowable, and will never be known. It's just pure evil by horrendously sick people.
8 to 10 more years of Kalifornia kooks moving there that play will change. See Colorado and soon to be Nevada, Montana, and Arizona.
“Out in 5 because . . . just because. The excuse list will be very long indeed.”
I honestly don’t think that will happen in Idaho. We mean business here. Idaho is unlike other states in many regards.
Besides deep family Idaho roots I have going back 125 years, it’s the no-nonsense law & order ethos that attracted us here from California.
If it were one of my kids who were murdered by this monster I’d be hunting down the prosecutor who signed off on this deal. He or she would be looking over their shoulders every day for the rest of their miserable life.
L
He is an admirer of Ted Bundy. A copy cat killer, so to speak.
Nope. The trial phase is over, he was convicted and sentenced to FOUR CONSECUTIVE life terms without possibility of parole. His only hope is an appeal. More info from Grok on insanity defense in appeal...
In U.S. criminal law, the insanity defense is an affirmative defense that must typically be raised and proven during the trial phase of a case. It argues that the defendant lacked the mental capacity to understand the nature of their actions or distinguish right from wrong at the time of the offense, potentially leading to a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). Federal rules and most state laws require defendants to provide advance notice if they intend to assert this defense, allowing the prosecution to prepare expert evaluations.Appeals, however, are not a venue for introducing new defenses or evidence that wasn't presented at trial.. Appellate courts review the trial record for legal errors, such as improper jury instructions, evidentiary rulings, or constitutional violations, rather than retrying the facts of the case. If the insanity defense was not raised at trial, it generally cannot be introduced for the first time on appeal. Exceptions might include claims of ineffective assistance of counsel (e.g., if an attorney failed to investigate or raise a viable insanity defense), but these are often handled in separate post-conviction proceedings like habeas corpus petitions, not direct appeals. Additionally, a guilty plea typically waives the right to assert defenses like insanity on appeal, as it admits guilt and focuses any review on the plea's voluntariness or sentencing issues.
It's worth noting that a few states, including Idaho, Kansas, Montana, and Utah, have abolished the insanity defense entirely, meaning it cannot be used at trial or on appeal in those jurisdictions. In such states, evidence of mental illness might still factor into sentencing or competency evaluations but does not negate criminal responsibility.
Bryan Kohberger was sentenced on July 23, 2025, to four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to the first-degree murders of four University of Idaho students. His case was prosecuted in Idaho, where the insanity defense is not recognized under state law. This means he could not have used it at any stage, including trial or appeal.
Kohberger's defense team did raise mental health issues during pretrial proceedings, including claims of autism, OCD, and ADHD, primarily to argue against the death penalty. A court-ordered mental health evaluation confirmed these diagnoses in May 2025, but under Idaho law, even severe mental illness does not provide a defense to the charges or negate guilt. These factors were considered in sentencing, where the judge opted for life imprisonment instead of execution.
Because Kohberger entered a guilty plea, his appeal options are severely limited. Guilty pleas waive most non-jurisdictional claims, including potential defenses like insanity (which wasn't available anyway). He could potentially appeal on grounds such as the sentence being excessive, the plea being involuntary, or procedural errors, but experts note that successful appeals in such cases are unlikely. Post-conviction relief options, like challenging the effectiveness of his counsel for not exploring mental health more thoroughly, remain available but would not directly involve raising an insanity defense.
In summary, he cannot appeal his sentences on insanity grounds due to Idaho's laws, the nature of his plea, and the appellate process.
If you look at the actual Idaho voter registration data, you will see BIG GAINS in Republican registration from out-of-state people moving to Idaho.
> If THIS doesn’t deserve the death penalty, then nothing does. <
Idaho has the death penalty. But as the article noted, Kohberger pled guilty in exchange for no death penalty.
I certainly agree with you. Kohberger should not have been offered that deal. Let him go to trial, and then to the death house.
In California, they haven’t executed someone in 17 years, but California juries still love to send people to death row. Death row is a lot pleasant place to live even if you don’t end up executed. It’s amazing to me that Idaho has a more lenient justice system than California.
“””I’m not satisfied.
If THIS doesn’t deserve the death penalty, then nothing does.”””””””””””
He will die in prison. He has no way out. If it had gone to trial all it takes is one lunatic juror to get a mistrial. There is no guarantee he would have gotten the death penalty if he was convicted. Even if he had, the appeals would go on for decades and he could be let out. I am glad it turned out this way.
If they mean business, why did they give him this deal?
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