(CNN) — Attorneys for the man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death in 2022 have nodded to autism spectrum disorder in asking the court to ensure the 30-year-old wouldn’t get the death penalty if convicted, court records show.
Bryan Kohberger is accused of killing Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at an off-campus home. His trial is expected to begin in August.
Summaries of court documents in the case show the defense filed a motion Monday “to Strike Death Penalty RE: Autism Spectrum Disorder.” A “Motion to Redact or Seal Newly Filed Records” was also filed Monday “in Support of their Motion to Strike Death Penalty RE: Autism Spectrum Disorder Under Seal.”
As of early Wednesday morning, the full documents were not publicly available online. And it was not immediately clear whether Kohberger has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or if the defense was seeking a diagnosis.
Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, adding scientists believe multiple causes of the disorder act together to change the most common ways people develop.
This is not the first time Kohberger’s defense has tried to remove the possibility of the death penalty. Last year, his lawyers filed motions listing a variety of reasons they believe the state’s intent to seek the death penalty is unconstitutional.
One motion focuses on what Kohberger’s defense team calls an “ideological shift” and “evolving standards” in the way Americans view the death penalty.
“The lack of an active death penalty in the majority of states within the United States indicates that there has been an ideological shift and that the punishment now violates our contemporary standards of decency,” they wrote, noting five US states have abolished the practice in recent years.
Other motions argue Idaho’s death penalty statute constitutes a violation of international law and the fundamental precepts of international human rights. They also argue Idaho’s methods of execution – lethal injection and firing squad – are cruel and unusual punishment and therefore violate the US Constitution.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, last week cited a state law providing “mental condition shall not be a defense to any charge of criminal conduct” except “expert evidence on the issues of any state of mind which is an element of the offense,” a court filing shows.
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