Death penalty looms for Charlie Kirk’s accused killer but legal bar is high as Trump, Cox mount pressure

Law enforcement officers arrest man accused of shooting and killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk Friday in Utah after 33 hours of crazy hunting. The fate of the suspect now depends on whether the state applies capital charges as political pressure.

Prosecutors have not filed a lawsuit against Tyler Robinson, who was accused of killing Kirk, drove nearly four hours to Uthah Valley University where Trump Ally spoke. It is unclear whether they will seek the death penalty, a step openly urging both sides President Donald Trump and Utah Governor Spencer Cox.

In a Friday press conference, Cox said investigators used stadium surveillance videos and tips from Robinson’s family and friends to identify him Before arrest. He also said the charges would be filed “soon.”

“We got him,” Cox said.

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The governor vowed that Robinson would be “responsible” for Kirk’s death, which he called “political assassination.”

“It’s certainly about Charlie Kirk’s tragic death, assassination, political assassination, but it’s also much bigger than an attack on individuals,” Cox said. “It’s an attack on all of us. It’s an attack on American experiments.”

Kirk The fierce debate on revival Regarding political violence in the United States, this has also raised many questions about how prosecutors will file lawsuits against Robinson, Utah law and years of precedent make the death penalty difficult.

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Robinson was held in Utah County Jail. The FOX News Digital reviewed affidavit of possible causes lists potential charges, including aggravated murder, felony release of firearms, causing serious injury and obstruction of justice.

Utah law allows prosecutors to seek death penalty only if an individual is charged with “aggravated murder” or in murders that intentionally “pose a huge risk of death to another person other than the victim or defendant.” The crimes listed in the affidavit could open the door for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

Clock in ticking: Utah law requires state attorneys to file specific Intent Notification Within 60 days after a person is arraigned for aggravated murder, they plan to notify the court and defense attorneys of the case as a capital felony. Doing so will a complex legal process, including a two-part or forked trial, determine the guilt and whether the defendant should be subject to the death penalty.

Otherwise, the case will be tried on charges of “non-capitalist fist punishment” and will be eligible for life imprisonment without parole.

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Both Cox and Trump suggested in an interview earlier this week that the state should be sentenced to death for Kirk’s killer even before Robinson was appointed as a suspect.

“I hope he is sentenced to death,” Trump said on Fox and Friends Friday morning.

According to Bee State, one of the 27 states that still allow the death penalty. Death Penalty Information Center. It is also one of only five states that have been executed by shooting squads.

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Even so, death penalty cases are rarely filed in Utah. The state has carried out only two executions over the past 20 years, with prisoners spending an average of 34 years on dead prisoners.

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It is too early to predict the outcome for Robinson’s criminal trial to attract national attention, especially the president and his allies.

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Robinson’s case has sparked intense speculation, even as some lawmakers urge calm.

“History will determine whether this is a turning point in our country, but if it is a turning point in our country, each of us can choose immediately,” Cox said.