If there’s one thing prosecutors love more than finality, it’s sidelining the actual people involved – so pardon the pleasantries, but sending plea-deal notices via email really is the height of bureaucratic cowardice, cold-blooded indifference and total disrespect.
According to the Daily Mail, 30-year-old Bryan Kohberger was set to face a capital murder trial in August for the deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, 21; her best friend Madison Mogen, 21; roommate Xana Kernodle, 20; and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin, 20. The killings of the University of Idaho students occurred in November of 2022 at an off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho.
Evidence was mounting against Kohberger as his attorneys tried unsuccessfully to exclude evidence in the trial. To avoid the death penalty, Kohberger’s defense team negotiated a plea deal, which the Latah County’s Prosecutor’s Office accepted. In the plea deal, Kohberger will plead guilty to all four murders and burglary in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Idaho Statesman reveals that for Madison’s father Ben Mogen, is accepting of the plea deal and that he accepts it because it means avoiding a trial and reopening wounds that they’re working to heal.
However, others are outraged. Not just because they wanted the case to go to trial but also because the cowardly prosecutor EMAILED THEM about the plea deal.
Yes, the people MOST AFFECTED by this tragedy not only have no say in the process but many also received no courtesy of a phone call or visit regarding the plea deal. It’s reported that the prosecutors only met with “available” family members and had vague discussions the previous week.
Nope, instead they got an email and an attached letter. The Goncalves family, especially Kaylee’s sister Aubrie, unleashed fury saying that the system has failed them.
She is not wrong.
She went on to say that the deal means “he (Kohberger) would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world. Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims’ pasts.”
Aubrie continued, “This last-minute plea deal feels less like an act of justice and more like an afterthought. We are not asking for vengeance. We are asking for accountability. We are asking for dignity for our loved ones. And we are asking – pleading – for a justice system that truly lives up to its name.”
Rushing the plea through, the prosecutor only gave the grieving families roughly two days to appear at the courthouse for the plea.
Prosecutors insist this shortcut prevents prolonged appeals and spares families the agony of a trial and potential retrials. But their “sincere attempt” to seek justice just looks like a backroom trade deal cut behind closed doors. What the government has really done is victimize all the families all over again so that they could score a “win.”
I’ve long wondered why exactly should the state decide the fate of these plea deals in secret? If victims’ families want death by jury or at least closure through real courtroom exposure, shouldn’t they have veto power? Imagine being denied that right – forced to watch as the system moves on, whispers behind the scenes, and pats itself on the back for “efficiency.”
So here’s a hot take: how about we rewrite the script? Let victims’ families sign off on any plea. Think of it as a “justice consent form.” No sign, no deal – no exceptions. That way, next time someone’s negotiating life and death for a killer, the people who actually matter get a say, not just the office that got tired of the paperwork, the costs, and the long hours preparing the case.
The deal must be approved by a judge during Wednesday’s court date, July 2 where Kohberger is expected to change his plea to “guilty.”
The post Injustice by Email: Plea Deal for Murderer Bryan Kohberger Infuriates Victim’s Family appeared first on Steve Gruber.
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Author: Liberty Paige
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