Charlie Kirk Suspect Fights Death Penalty, Says No Others Were in Danger
New York Times · LC · trust 51/100
Prosecutors say they can seek the death penalty against Tyler Robinson because he also endangered people near Charlie Kirk, who was shot in the throat last year. Mr. Robinson’s lawyers note that the gunman struck only his target.
Listen · 4:54 min Share full article Tyler Robinson during a June court hearing in Provo, Utah. Credit... Pool photo by Francisco Kjolseth By Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs
Prosecutors in Utah have charged the man, Tyler Robinson, 23, with aggravated murder and are seeking capital punishment, because they say he “knowingly created a great risk of death” to people around Mr. Kirk, the 31-year-old conservative activist. Mr. Kirk was shot in the throat last year while speaking at a college’s outdoor amphitheater.
But in a legal briefing this week, Mr. Robinson’s lawyers argued that Mr. Kirk’s assassin had fired a single bullet “above, not through,” the crowd of thousands that came to see Mr. Kirk speak at Utah Valley University last September.
“The shooter did not miss his intended target and did not chamber another round, leaving the spent cartridge in the rifle,” the court-appointed lawyers wrote.
Mr. Robinson has not entered a plea, and his lawyers did not say that their client was the gunman.
In hearings last month, prosecutors presented evidence against Mr. Robinson, including an account from his former lover of Mr. Robinson’s admitting to the killing and expressing regret.
Judge Tony Graf could decide as soon as Sept. 1, after oral arguments, whether prosecutors have presented enough evidence to take Mr. Robinson to trial.
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