FILE - In this March 6, 2020, file photo, Lori Vallow Daybell glances at the camera during her hearing, with her defense attorney, Edwina Elcox, right, in Rexburg, Idaho. Prosecutors say the mother of two children who were found dead in rural Idaho months after they vanished in a bizarre case that captured worldwide attention had conspired with her new husband to hide or destroy the kids' bodies. The new felony charges against Lori Vallow Daybell came late Monday, June 29, 2020, the latest twist in a case tied to the mysterious deaths of both of the couple's former spouses and their beliefs about zombies and the apocalypse. (John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool, File)
SALT LAKE CITY — The judge in Lori Daybell’s case has taken the death penalty off the table.
East Idaho News reports the judge granted a motion to remove the possibility of the death penalty.
Lori Daybell and her husband Chad are accused of the murders of her two children.
An earlier decision determined they would have separate trials on those charges. Lori’s trial is expected to begin with jury selection in just a few days.
If she’s found guilty, the judge will determine her sentence. KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas told Utah’s Noon News that will make the whole trial move faster.
Skordas said death penalty cases have more extensive appeals, and often go into the federal court system.
“But those are all off the table. I’m actually surprised that the state ever thought that this would be a death penalty case given her age and lack of criminal history,” Skordas added.
And it also streamlines the process of the verdict and sentencing phases.
“In most cases in America, the judge decides the punishment but in death penalty cases the jury does. Having that now taken off the table, the jury doesn’t have to make that determination. And that will shorten the trial by quite a bit.”