Tyler Robinson Seeks to Block Death Penalty Over Prosecutor's Comments Before July 6 Hearing
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 12
Tyler Robinson Seeks to Block Death Penalty Over Prosecutor's Comments Before July 6 Hearing
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 12
Summary
Utah defense lawyers asked Judge Tony Graf to bar prosecutors from seeking death against Tyler Robinson if a prosecutor-spokesperson is found in contempt over media comments about a bullet fragment recovered in Charlie Kirk’s autopsy.
Christopher Ballard gave interviews in late March and early April after a defense filing said the ATF could not match the bullet to Robinson’s rifle; prosecutors say he was clarifying that the agency also could not exclude the rifle.
Ballard testified he believed the comments fit an exception allowing responses to potentially prejudicial publicity, while defense lawyer Richard Novak called the remarks reckless and said they violated the court’s pretrial publicity order.
July 6 is the scheduled start of Robinson’s preliminary hearing, where Judge Graf is also weighing whether prosecutors can use hearsay evidence, including a video deposition from a key witness.
June 22 is when the court is expected to rule on both disputes in the high-profile campus killing case, in which prosecutors announced last September that they would seek the death penalty.