The judge in the ongoing case of the accused murderer of Charlie Kirk has refused a defense bid to take the death penalty off the table. The accused, Tyler Robinson, may still face the ultimate penalty, although Judge Tony Graf Jr. also issued a rebuke to the prosecution.
Charlie Kirk's accused assassin, Tyler Robinson, can still face the potential death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder, a Utah judge ruled Friday.
Judge Tony Graf Jr. found Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard was in contempt of a court order for statements he made about his opinion on the strength of evidence in the case — but he was not wrong for making other statements in which he disputed a misleading characterization about specific ballistic evidence from a defense court filing.
As a result, Graf denied Robinson's argument that the appropriate remedy would be to remove the potential death penalty — and instead he said he would expand the jury selection process to ensure a fair trial.
"The court finds that striking the death penalty is grossly disproportionate to the misconduct and legally unavailable in this civil contempt framework," Graf said in court.
The death penalty would seem to be allowed in the United States Constitution, in the 5th Amendment, which states in part:
...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law
That would imply that one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property with due process of law, which is, of course, what Tyler Robinson is undergoing right now.
Utah also allows the death penalty, but requires a unanimous decision by a jury.
The controversy arose following the ATF's testing of the bullet that killed Charlie Kirk, along with other forensic evidence from the rifle allegedly used to fire the fatal shot.
Prosecutors had countered that they did not violate the gag order or any other court rules when they "set the record straight" after what they call a misleading statement from a defense filing led to viral news coverage suggesting that the ATF could not match the bullet that killed Kirk to the suspected murder weapon, Robinson's grandfather's rifle.
The ATF could neither identify nor exclude Robinson's grandfather's rifle as the source of the bullet fragment recovered from Kirk, describing the tool mark analysis as inconclusive, according to court records. But the caliber was consistent, and a spent casing was also a match.
Neither the gag order in Robinson's case nor state court rules prohibited prosecutors from correcting what they saw as the defense's misleading court filing, according to prosecutors. But Ballard went further in at least one interview, Graf said, where he expressed confidence in the totality of the evidence against Robinson.
So, the death penalty is still an option.
Read More: Accused Charlie Kirk Assassin Tyler Robinson Wants Secrecy - the Court Just Voted for Sunlight
New: Judge Makes Major Decision on Cameras in the Courtroom for Accused Charlie Kirk Assassin's Case
Prosecutors have said they will be seeking the death penalty. As of this writing, Tyler Robinson has yet to enter a plea. A formal preliminary hearing in the case is expected in early July.
This remains a developing case and will be one of great interest. Stay tuned.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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