Why Laken Riley's killer isn't facing death penalty in Georgia
The Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole—after prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.
Jose Ibarra, 26, was found guilty of all counts against him, including one count of malice murder and three counts of felony murder, by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra had waived his right to a jury trial, so Haggard alone heard and decided the case.
The Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office announced before Ibarra's trial that it would not seek the death penalty. District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, a progressive Democrat, faced criticism from Republicans over the decision in a case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration during this year's presidential race.
On Wednesday Haggard gave Ibarra the maximum sentence he could. Prosecutors said Ibarra had encountered Riley, 22, while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on February 22 and killed her during a struggle.
In May, Gonzalez told local media: "Our utmost duty is to ensure that justice is served and that the victim's family is an integral part of the deliberation process.
"We understand that there will be those outside this office who will disagree with our decision and seek to exploit this case for political gain. However, the integrity of our judicial process and the pursuit of justice must always transcend political considerations."
Gonzalez, who appointed a special prosecutor for Ibarra in February, lost her bid for reelection to Republican Kalki Yalamanchili in a landslide earlier this month.
Gonzalez's office and Prosecutor Sheila Ross have been contacted for comment via email by Newsweek.
Gonzalez had committed to never seeking the death penalty after being elected district attorney in 2020.
A copy of Gonzalez's policies shared on social media by Georgia State Rep. Houston Gaines says: "Cases which are legally eligible for the death penalty are eligible for sentences of life without parole and life with parole eligibility after serving thirty years. Both of these sentences constitute very substantial punishment. Decisions to seek the sentence of life without parole are a sentence of death in prison."
The policy also states that her office would "take into account collateral consequences to undocumented defendants" when making charging decisions.
Republican lawmakers were outraged that Ibarra would not face a death sentence.
"If there was ever a case where the death penalty was appropriate, this is it," Gaines wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote that Ibarra "deserves the death penalty. Just as Laken's mother Allyson asked the judge, Laken's evil murderer deserves exactly what he gave to Laken."
Georgia State Sen. Colton Moore urged the state attorney general to step in.
"I am officially calling on Attorney General Chris Carr to file an emergency motion to intervene and demand the death penalty for the murderer of Laken Riley," Moore wrote on X.
"District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez let her radical political agenda stand in the way of justice. By refusing to seek the death penalty, she denied Laken's family, friends, and community the full measure of justice they deserve."
Carr praised lawmakers for securing a conviction in the case on social media. "We're grateful to Sheila Ross with the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council for ensuring that a conviction was obtained and we will continue to pray for all who knew and loved Laken."
The lawmakers and Carr's office have been contacted for further comment via email.
President-elect Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden's immigration policies for Riley's death and repeatedly brought up her killing on the campaign trail, where he pledged to launch the largest deportation program in U.S. history in a second term. Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.
Trump welcomed Ibarra's sentence in a post on his Truth Social platform, writing that "although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family."
He added: "It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again!"
Georgia law "does not ever require prosecutors to seek a death sentence, even when someone commits a terrible crime," Robin Maher, the executive director of the nonpartisan Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), told Newsweek.
"Prosecutors have a tremendous amount of discretion to decide which crimes, and which defendants, merit a possible death sentence. A number of factors, including the defendant's physical and mental health, and aspects of the crime, will affect their decision.
"In this case, prosecutors apparently decided that if Mr Ibarra was convicted, he could be punished adequately without seeking a possible death sentence. That decision is consistent with the law and their authority."
She said while it's not known how often Georgia prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty because information about the total number of death-eligible cases they consider is not public, the state has not secured any new death sentences in 2024.
Georgia has executed 76 men and one woman since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to the DPIC.
The state carried out its first execution in more than four years in March when Willie James Pye was put to death via lethal injection. There are currently 34 inmates on death row in Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections. The most recent addition to Georgia's death row was Tiffany Moss, convicted of starving her 10-year-old stepdaughter to death in 2019.
Update 21/11/24, 8:15 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Robin Maher.
