Utah County prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder for the alleged killing of Charlie Kirk and filed formal notice that they will seek the death penalty, alongside counts of felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction, and witness tampering.

Robinson has not entered a plea, but someone found guilty of such an offense might have a realistic path to avoid a death sentence by invoking a special mitigation based on "extreme emotional distress" (EED).

Why It Matters

The path to avoiding a death sentence runs through Utah's special-mitigation rules and the arithmetic of capital juries. After lawmakers move EED into special mitigation, the burden shifts to the defense to prove it by a preponderance of the evidence—difficult, but if met it can reduce an aggravated-murder

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