Accused Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson will still face the death penalty — despite a judge on Friday ruling that prosecutors violated a gag order and threw the case into chaos.
Utah Judge Tony Graf found prosecutor Christopher Ballard in civil contempt for chatting to media outlets about Robinson’s case — but refused to take the death penalty off the table, as the defense requested.
Robinson’s team claimed that prosecutors needed to be sanctioned after they responded to a misleading defense filing suggesting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined the bullet in the gun Robinson allegedly used to shoot the conservative podcaster didn’t match the round found in Kirk’s body.
Those court papers by Robinson’s lawyers sparked online conspiracy theories about how the conservative activist died.
Graf acknowledged that Robinson’s lawyers “initiated the media frenzy” that led Ballard to feel he needed to correct the inaccurate reports suggesting the ATF findings exonerated Robinson.
But the judge said while Ballard’s comments on the bullet evidence didn’t cross a line, he did flout the gag when he told certain outlets that his office had enough evidence to convict Robinson.
Still, Robinson’s lawyers seeking to remove capital punishment for the infraction was “disproportional” to Ballard’s conduct and “legally prohibited,” Graf said.
Instead, the judge ordered the prosecution to pay Robinson’s attorneys fees that were racked up fighting the contempt motion.
Graf also said he would take additional precautions when selecting a jury to ensure Ballard’s comments wouldn’t lead to biased jurors or an unfair trial.
He said they would bring in even more prospective jurors and add more pre-screening questions both on a written form and for the in court questioning of the potential panelists.
