Judge Tony Graf Jr. issued the ruling during a virtual hearing, penalizing the prosecution for discussing details regarding a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body with the media. The defense team, which accused prosecutors of going on a “media tour,” used the violation to demand that the death penalty be thrown out, arguing that the public remarks could unfairly sway potential jurors, News.Az reports, citing CBS.
While Judge Graf agreed that the prosecutor’s comments crossed the line, he ultimately declined to remove the death penalty from the table, ruling that the capital punishment track can move forward.
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Instead, the court plans to expand the jury pool and implement additional questionnaires to filter out any bias. The defendant, Tyler Robinson, faces charges of aggravated murder and is scheduled for a preliminary evidentiary hearing on July 6.
