Prosecutor Jeff Gray announced Tuesday that the state of Utah will request the death penalty for the young man accused of murdering Charlie Kirk last week at a university event.
Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested Thursday by Kirk’s murder.
The prosecutor announced seven state positions, including aggravated homicide. In addition to the murder position, Robinson faces firearm shooting charges with serious body injuries, justice obstruction, witness manipulation and commission of a violent crime in the presence of minors.
Gray said that the State also alleges aggravating factors in the positions of murder and possession of firearms.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnzkhwguhs0
Robinson has remained detained without bail since his arrest.
President Trump has requested the death penalty after Kirk’s murder, but Gray said the decision was made “independently as a prosecutor, based solely on the available evidence, the circumstances and the nature of the crime.”
Request the death penalty triggers a long legal process that will include a trial in two parties. A jury will be in charge not only to determine Robinson’s guilt, but also if the facts of the case do so eligible for execution.
Otherwise, Robinson faces a life sentence.
Kirk’s murder was the last of a series of attacks against prominent political figures of both parties in recent years, including two attacks against Trump and the murder of the former president of the Chamber of Representatives of Minnesota, Melissa Hortman (Democrat), in June, among others.
