Will Charlie Kirk’s killer face death by firing squad? Death penalty laws in the US

A chair sits in the execution chamber at the Utah State Prison on June 18, 2010, after Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad in Draper, Utah (Picture: AP)

The assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah is one of the prominent cases in the US in which Donald Trump is pushing for the death penalty.

When the US president appeared on Fox News on Friday, he confirmed that a suspect is in custody in connection with the killing of the far-right activist and repeated his call for an execution.

That person was later identified as Tyler Robinson, who was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt that ended after his father persuades him to surrender to police.

The 22-year-old is accused of fatally shooting Kirk at Utah Valley University and now faces aggravated murder charges.

His case raises a major legal question – if convicted, will Robinson face life in prison, or could prosecutors seek the death penalty?

What sentence will Charlie Kirk’s murder suspect get?

He is being held, without the possibility of bail, on suspicion of aggravated murder, a felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, and obstruction of justice.

Prosecutors said additional charges could be added as the investigation develops, including weapons violations and obstruction.

A TV monitor displays a picture of Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk on September 11 (Picture: AFP)

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said yesterday that the accused gunman is not cooperating with authorities, but added that ‘all the people around him were cooperating, and I think that’s very important.’

The motive of the shooting also remains unclear so far.

Robinson is set to appear in court for the first time tomorrow, but calls are already mounting for prosecutors to pursue the death penalty.

But this is a long process – and Death-row prisoners in the country typically spend more than a decade awaiting execution.

There are also a number of cases in which court rulings end up overturning their death sentences.

Robinson’s defence attorneys are set to argue that he acted alone and was not part of an organised terror group.

Another factor that could sway against capital punishment are any mental health issues that Robinson suffered from.

Which US states have the death penalty?

Across America, 27 states still have the death penalty – and Utah is one of them.

They are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky. Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on September 10 ,oments before he was shot in the neck and killed (Picture: Getty)

The latest execution in Utah took place in August 2024 when Taberon Dave Honie was given a lethal injection for murdering and raping his ex-girlfriend’s mother, Claudia Benn, in 1998.

Honie was the first person to be executed in Utah in over 14 years.

Will Robinson face death by firing squad?

Execution by firing squad is the most widely used method in the world, and it has been for a long time. It was also the first execution method in the US, dating back to 1608.

Since then, at least 144 people have been executed by shooting, nearly all in Utah.

Only three have occurred since 1977, when the use of capital punishment resumed after a 10-year pause.

For Robinson, whose trial will draw international attention, it is still far too early to predict the outcome. 

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