22-year-old Tyler Robinson will be presented in court today, where prosecutors will formally press murder charges against him. Robinson was arrested late last week and was booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm. It will be clear today whether the prosecutors will press a capital murder charge against him that would carry the death penalty or life in prison under Utah law.
Does Utah have the death penalty?
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Utah and Utah was in fact the first state to resume executions after the 1972-1976 national moratorium on capital punishment ended with Gregg v. Georgia, when Gary Gilmore was executed by firing squad in 1977. Utah is one of only three states to have ever carried out executions by firing squad, and one of only two to do so after the moratorium ended, the other being South Carolina.According to reports, the last known case of capital punishment in Utah is Ronnie Lee Gardner, who was executed by a firing squad in 2010. In the Tyler Robinson case, if prosecutors pursue the death penalty, they must file a formal notice within 60 days of charges. Robinson could also face federal charges carrying their own potential death penalty, though no such charges have been announced.
