Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger could die in front of a firing squad if convicted and sentenced to death for the four student murders in Idaho.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kohberger, a criminal justice Ph.D. student at Washington State University, was charged with the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, Ethan Chapin, 20, and Madison Mogen, 21, all University of Idaho students.
Although prosecutors have not yet said whether they will pursue the death penalty against Kohberger, the possibility of him facing the firing squad is now looming if he is convicted.
GOP state lawmaker, Representative Bruce Skaug introduced a bill on Wednesday last week that would reintroduce the firing squad as a form of execution in Idaho.
Currently, state executions are only done using lethal injection.
According to the bill introduced by the State House Judiciary and Administration Committee chairman, the Idaho Corrections Department must determine and communicate whether lethal injection drugs are available five days after a death warrant is issued.
If lethal injection is unavailable, then a firing squad will be used.
The lawmaker believes that firing squads are more humane than lethal injections because there’s no possibility of a botched operation.
Skaug introduced the bill after an execution in Idaho was canceled in November last year because of a lack of lethal injection chemicals. For that reason, Idaho could be among several other states to bring back the firing squad.
Firing squads were banned in Idaho in 2009, but acquiring the drugs used in lethal injections has become more difficult recently.
Authorities revealed that Kohberger stalked his victim for weeks before the brutal murders. Investigators also obtained DNA evidence linked to the crime scene.
According to People, police found several pictures of one of his victims on his phone.
Kohberger will appear in court on June 26 to enter a plea to his four murder charges. Latah County prosecutors will likely have announced if they will pursue the death penalty by the end of July.
