Some relatives of the four University of Idaho students brutally stabbed to death have said prosecutors “failed” the families in reaching a plea deal with suspect Bryan Kohberger without consulting them, but Northeastern University expert James Alan Fox says that is common practice. “It is normal and appropriate to inform the families of the victims about a plea deal, but not to need their permission or consent,” says Fox, a research professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern.
“The prosecution represents the state, the people of the state of Idaho. They don’t actually represent the families of the victims. Consider if the case were to go to trial and after a conviction, the jury deliberated on the appropriate sentence. Obviously jurors would not need to get the consent of the victims were they to decide and recommend life in prison as opposed to death. Similarly, the prosecution does not require the consent of the victims’ families,” he says.
