Defense asks judge to ban the death penalty for man charged in stabbing deaths of 4 Idaho students

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Defense asks judge to ban the death penalty for man charged in stabbing deaths of 4 Idaho students

2024-11-08 08:32 Last Updated At：08:40

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Attorneys for a man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students asked a judge to take the death penalty off the table Thursday, arguing that international, federal and state law all make it inappropriate for the case.

Bryan Kohberger is accused of the Nov. 13, 2022, killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Investigators said they were able to link Kohberger — then a graduate student at nearby Washington State University — to the crime from DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance videos and cellphone data.

When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

During a pre-trial motion hearing, Kohberger's defense team made a broad range of arguments against the death penalty, saying in part that it does not fit today's standards of decency, that it is cruel to make condemned inmates sit for decades on death row awaiting execution and that it violates an international treaty prohibiting the torture of prisoners.

But 4th District Judge Stephen Hippler questioned many of those claims, saying that the international treaty they referenced was focused on ensuring that prisoners are given due process so they are not convicted and executed without a fair trial.

Prosecutors noted that the Idaho Supreme Court has already considered many of those arguments in other capital cases and allowed the the death penalty to stand.

Still, by bringing up the issues during the motion hearing, Kohberger's defense team took the first step toward preserving their legal arguments in the court record, potentially allowing them to raise them again on appeal.

The judge said he would issue a written ruling on the motions later.

Kristi and Steve Goncalves, the parents of Kaylee Goncalves, attended the hearing. Afterward they said the details of the case show the death penalty is merited.

“You've got four victims, all in one house — that's more than enough,” Steve Goncalves said.

Kristi Goncalves said she talked to the coroner and knows what happened to her daughter.

“If he did anything like he did to our daughter to the others, then he deserves to die,” she said.

Kohberger's attorneys have said he was out for a drive the night of the killings, something he often did to look at the sky.

His trial is scheduled to begin next August and is expected to last up to three months. The Goncalves family said they have rented a home in Boise so they can attend.

Gasperini's substitutions revive Atalanta against Cagliari to stay atop Serie A

2024-12-15 06:05 Last Updated At：06:10

MILAN (AP) — A week after being named Serie A coach of the month, Gian Piero Gasperini showed why he is also a contender for coach of the year again.

Gasperini’s substitutions had an immediate impact as Atalanta won at lowly Cagliari 1-0 on Saturday for a club record 10th straight league victory. That ensured Atalanta will end the weekend on top of the table.

Atalanta remained two points above second-placed Napoli, which fought back to beat Udinese 3-1.

Ninth-placed Juventus remained the only unbeaten team in Serie A, but only just, when a stoppage-time penalty saw it snatch a 2-2 draw at home against bottom club Venezia.

Atalanta struggled to break down Cagliari in the first half and had Marco Carnesecchi to thank for it not being behind at the interval. The visiting goalkeeper pulled off impressive stops, including a fantastic triple save before the break.

Gasperini was clearly not happy with his team and made three changes at halftime and Atalanta immediately improved.

The coach made another two substitutions in the 64th minute, sending on the fresh legs of Nicolò Zaniolo and Lazar Samardzic for Mario Pasalic and Charles De Ketelaere.

The duo helped to break the deadlock two minutes later. Samardzic found Raoul Bellanova on the right side of the area and he knocked it back for Zaniolo to slot into the near bottom corner from close range.

Gasperini, who has been in charge of Atalanta for eight years, was the coach of the year in 2019 and 2020. Last week, he picked up the monthly award for November.

Atalanta won the Europa League last season but has never won Serie A. It achieved its highest finish of third place three times under Gasperini.

Cagliari gave an impressive performance but remained just two points above the relegation zone.

Juventus was held to a fourth straight draw in Serie A but the Bianconeri will be relieved as they needed a Dusan Vlahovic penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to avoid losing their unbeaten record.

Just three days after an impressive win over Manchester City in the Champions League, Juventus appeared set to suffer a shock defeat to Venezia until visiting defender Antonio Candela was somewhat harshly penalized for handball.

Jay Idzes headed Venezia in front seven minutes from time after Mikael Egill Ellertsson canceled out Federico Gatti’s opener for Juventus.

It would have been Venezia's first Serie A victory over Juventus in more than 60 years.

Napoli recovered from a dismal week in which it lost the Serie A lead and went out of the Italian Cup after two straight losses — both to Lazio.

Napoli also went behind in the 22nd minute on Saturday when Udinese was awarded a penalty for a Stanislav Lobotka handball.

Alex Meret parried Florian Thauvin's spot kick but he pushed it back only to the Udinese captain, who fired the rebound into the opposite corner.

Romelu Lukaku leveled five minutes after the break after running onto Scott McTominay's throughball and holding off Lautaro Giannetti.

The Udinese defender was even more unfortunate in the 76th when he attempted to clear David Neres' shot but succeeded only in turning it into his own net. Frank Anguissa sealed the win five minutes later.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer