BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawyers for a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death asked a judge Thursday to take the death penalty off the table, arguing that international, federal and state laws they make it inappropriate for the case. .

Bryan Kohberger is charged with the Nov. 13, 2022, murders of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. Investigators said they were able to link Kohberger (then a graduate student at nearby Washington State University, to the crime based on DNA found on a knife sheath at the scene, surveillance video and cell phone data.

When asked to plead guilty last year, Kohberger remained silent, prompting a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

During a pretrial hearing, Kohberger’s defense team presented a wide range of arguments against the death penalty, saying in part that it fails to meet current standards of decency, that it is cruel to hold condemned prisoners for decades on death row awaiting execution and violating an international treaty prohibiting the torture of prisoners.

But Fourth District Judge Stephen Hippler disputed many of those claims, saying the international treaty they referenced focused on ensuring that prisoners receive due process so they are not convicted and executed without a fair trial.

Prosecutors noted that the Idaho Supreme Court already considered many of those arguments in other capital cases and allowed the death penalty to stand.

Still, by raising the issues during the motion hearing, Kohberger’s defense team took the first step toward preserving their legal arguments in the court record, potentially allowing them to raise them again on appeal.

The judge said he would issue a written ruling on the motions later.

Kristi and Steve Goncalves, Kaylee Goncalves’ parents, attended the hearing. They later said the details of the case show the death penalty is deserved.

“You have four victims, all in one house; that’s more than enough,” Steve Goncalves said.

Kristi Goncalves said she spoke with the coroner and knows what happened to her daughter.

“If he did something like he did to our daughter and others, then he deserves to die,” she said.

Kohberger’s lawyers have said he went for a drive on the night of the murders, something he often did to look at the sky.

His trial is scheduled to begin next August and is expected to last up to three months. The Goncalves family said they rented a house in Boise so they could attend.

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