The man charged with killing four University of Idaho students was offered a deal to plead guilty and serve four life sentences rather than face the death penalty.
Some relatives of the four University of Idaho students brutally stabbed to death have said prosecutors “failed” the families in reaching a plea deal with suspect Bryan Kohberger without consulting them, but Northeastern University expert James Alan Fox says that is common practice.
“It is normal and appropriate to inform the families of the victims about a plea deal, but not to need their permission or consent,” says Fox, a research professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern.
“The prosecution represents the state, the people of the state of Idaho. They don’t actually represent the families of the victims. Consider if the case were to go to trial and after a conviction, the jury deliberated on the appropriate sentence. Obviously jurors would not need to get the consent of the victims were they to decide and recommend life in prison as opposed to death. Similarly, the prosecution does not require the consent of the victims’ families,” he says.
Kohberger is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to four counts of first-degree murder in exchange for avoiding the death penalty. Under the terms of the agreement, the Washington State University criminology Ph.D. student would serve four consecutive life sentences on top of 10 years for a first-degree burglary charge he faces for killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were killed in the students’ off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, during the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022.
Family members of Goncalves and their attorney, as well as Kernodle’s family, have expressed dissatisfaction with the deal and disappointment that the victims’ families were not considered.
Goncalves’ father spoke out about the deal, saying “Idaho has failed” him and his family when they let Kohburger accept a plea deal without the family’s input. Jeff Kernodle, the father of Xana, also issued a statement saying he didn’t agree with the deal .
The Goncalves family also issued a statement saying the prosecutors mentioned a possible plea on Friday, which they said was a “hard no” from them. The families then received a letter on Monday saying Kohberger’s defense team asked for a plea offer the week prior.
Fox says the families would have the chance to speak at a trial and may still have the opportunity to appear in court and argue the judge shouldn’t accept the plea deal, but it’s unlikely this would sway the decision.
“I appreciate the pain and suffering of families,” Fox says. “But when it comes down to it, should their involvement make a difference. If you murder someone whose family is not going to appear in court, does that mean you should get a lighter sentence because the family is not advocating for the death penalty? It shouldn’t matter. What matters is the characteristics of the crime, not the family.”
Accepting plea deals is common in cases where the death penalty is on the table, Fox adds, especially given the penalty. Kohberger faced the possibility of execution by firing squad, which Idaho Gov. Bill Little made Idaho’s preferred death penalty method this year. Some of Goncalves’ family worked to help pass the bill.
While some of the families favored the death penalty, Fox says in cases like this, where multiple families are involved, not everyone may want the same outcome. Members of the Mogen and Chapin family said they were OK with the deal.
In avoiding a trial, Fox says the families do not have to go through the pain of being in court, awaiting sentencing, and appeals, which could drag out for years.
Additionally, Fox says the trial and subsequent execution would be more costly, both financially and emotionally, and would not guarantee Kohberger would face the death penalty. Even if he did, it would likely be decades, if ever, before Kohburger was actually executed given the possibility of appeals and how long it takes to carry through the penalty. Fox says the average time is a couple decades.
“There are a lot of reasons why this is a good result, and that families will not have to sit through this trial,” he says. “(That) is an awful experience for families to hear over and over again what happened and how their family member died. … They don’t have to deal with him ever again. They don’t have to go to court ever again after this. They don’t have to face the possibility of having to go to an execution and all that brings. It ends the process. It doesn’t necessarily mean closure … (but) seeing him executed does not bring closure. It doesn’t provide the kind of satisfaction that they think they would get out of it.”