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The Goncalves Family And Their Comments On The Reinstatement Of The Firing Squad In Idaho · Beyond The Horizon

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Everyone and welcome back to the program.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think it's a secret at this point that
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  Speaker 2: the Gonsalves family is looking for Brian Kohlberger to get
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  Speaker 2: the death penalty. And now, not only are they looking
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  Speaker 2: for him to get the death penalty, well, they want
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  Speaker 2: him to get the death penalty by the firing squad.
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  Speaker 2: And can you blame them? If this guy is convicted,
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  Speaker 2: can you blame Steve Gonsalves and the Gonsalves family if
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  Speaker 2: they want Brian Kohlberger to be put to death? I
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  Speaker 2: certainly can't. If it was my daughter, forget it. I
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  Speaker 2: can't even imagine what these folks are going through. So yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I'd want the most harsh penalty on the books for
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  Speaker 2: my daughter's killer as well. And that's what the Gonsalves
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  Speaker 2: family wants here. They want Brian Kohlberger, if he's found guilty,
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  Speaker 2: to face justice by the firing squad. Today we have
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  Speaker 2: an article from the U.S. Sun and the headline, Justice
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  Speaker 2: for Kaylee. Family of Idaho murder victim Kaylee Gonsalves want
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  Speaker 2: killer Brian Kohlberger to face a firing squad. This article
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  Speaker 2: was authored by Cheyenne R.
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  Speaker 1: Uberia.
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  Speaker 2: After revealing that they want alleged Idaho student murderer Brian
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  Speaker 2: Kohlberger to receive the death penalty, the family of Kaylee
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  Speaker 2: Gonsalves shared that they want him to face a firing squad.
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  Speaker 2: Kohlberger was indicted by a grand jury earlier in May.
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  Speaker 2: and has pleaded not guilty in connection to the November
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  Speaker 2: 2022 deaths of Ethan Chapin, Zanna Kernodle, Madison Mogan, and Kaylee.
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  Speaker 2: And we also know that the Mogan family, they also
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  Speaker 2: are looking for the death penalty in this case, as
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  Speaker 2: we heard previously. So we know that two families, at
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  Speaker 2: the very least, are looking for the death penalty. And
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  Speaker 2: we also know that that goes a long way with
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  Speaker 2: prosecutors as well. So it's going to be interesting to
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  Speaker 2: see what the Kernodle family has to say. And as
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  Speaker 2: far as the Chapin family goes, well, I highly doubt
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  Speaker 2: that they're going to push one way or the other
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  Speaker 2: for the death penalty. They've already said that they're going
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  Speaker 2: to focus more on Ethan's memory. And you can't really
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  Speaker 2: blame them, right? They don't want to keep reliving this.
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  Speaker 2: They don't want to be involved. They just want justice
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  Speaker 2: to take its course. On a Facebook page dedicated to
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  Speaker 2: Kaylee and the Gonsalves family, Christy Gonsalves, Kaylee's mother, shared
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  Speaker 2: a post in support, of Idaho House Bill 186. According
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  Speaker 2: to the Post, the bill amends existing law to provide
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  Speaker 2: for execution by firing squad and to provide for certain
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  Speaker 2: requirements before an execution. And a lot of that has
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  Speaker 2: to do with the fact that they can't get the chemicals.
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  Speaker 2: We've talked about this pretty extensively, and some of these
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  Speaker 2: states are having a big issue getting the chemicals that
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  Speaker 2: are needed to carry out the death sentence by lethal injection.
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  Speaker 2: So if they can't carry out a death sentence by
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  Speaker 2: lethal injection, they have to have another method available to
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  Speaker 2: them to follow through with what the state and the
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  Speaker 2: people of Idaho have demanded in restitution for the crimes committed.
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  Speaker 2: So what they have done is reinstitute death by firing squad. A,
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  Speaker 2: very cost effective. B, well, you're not going to run
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  Speaker 2: out of bullets. And C, you don't have to worry
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  Speaker 2: about finding people who are willing to be the executioner.
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  Speaker 2: Certain guards that work at these facilities, they'll be in
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  Speaker 2: charge of that. You'll have like 12 people stand there.
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  Speaker 2: They'll all take shots at the person and no one
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  Speaker 2: will know who fired the killing blow. Quick and efficient. Again,
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  Speaker 2: not a big fan of the death penalty because I
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  Speaker 2: don't think the state really should be out here killing citizens.
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  Speaker 2: But when you have somebody like Brian Kohlberger on your hands,
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  Speaker 2: if he's convicted with as strong as all the evidence is,
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  Speaker 2: I just don't see how you can go any other way.
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  Speaker 2: Christie shared the post featuring photos of two men wearing
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  Speaker 2: shirts that read Justice for Kaylee.
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  Speaker 1: The bill was.
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  Speaker 2: Signed by Idaho Governor Brad Little in March, adding a
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  Speaker 2: firing squad as an alternative method of execution when lethal
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  Speaker 2: injection isn't an option. Now, if they can't have either,
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  Speaker 2: I suggest the volcano method. You want to talk about
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  Speaker 2: saving some money? That's a method that'll even pay for itself, right?
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: strap a GoPro to these dudes, and then let one
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  Speaker 2: of the family members of the victims kick them directly
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  Speaker 2: into the volcano. But what we do is we charge pay-per-view, right?
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  Speaker 2: 20 bucks or something like that as a streaming fee,
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  Speaker 2: and then all the money goes to the victims. You
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  Speaker 2: want to be a disgusting bastard and murder people and
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  Speaker 2: hurt people?
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  Speaker 1: Fine.
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  Speaker 2: Then I'm willing to use my injustice on you by
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  Speaker 2: throwing your ass into a volcano. Idaho has become the
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  Speaker 2: fifth state to authorize the execution of an inmate by
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  Speaker 2: firing squad. Little wrote in a statement that he supported
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  Speaker 2: policies allowing the state to carry out executions throughout his career.
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  Speaker 2: He wrote, Last year, Little signed House Bill 658 extending
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  Speaker 2: protections to suppliers and manufacturers of lethal injection drugs in
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  Speaker 2: the state. So what happens is these manufacturers and the
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  Speaker 2: people who are providing the expertise to administer the shots,
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  Speaker 2: a lot of times they don't want.
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  Speaker 1: To do it.
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  Speaker 2: They take a stand one way or the other. They
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  Speaker 2: feel like it's cruel and unusual, whatever it might be.
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  Speaker 2: Then it puts the state in a position where where
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  Speaker 2: they don't have any sort of way to go about
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  Speaker 2: handing down these sentences. So they can't carry out the
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  Speaker 2: law that the state has handed down to these criminals.
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  Speaker 2: And that puts the state in an awkward position. So
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  Speaker 2: what they have to do is get creative. And the
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  Speaker 2: best way to do that, according to the state of Idaho,
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  Speaker 2: and the most cost-effective way, is to go back to
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  Speaker 2: a firing squad. And we heard from that expert on
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  Speaker 2: the death penalty who said that the firing squad method
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  Speaker 2: is actually humane. And I could see that. You got
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  Speaker 2: marksmen shooting, right? There's not going to be a miss
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  Speaker 2: at that range. You have a good marksman. You're going
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  Speaker 2: to get hit by one of those bullets in a
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  Speaker 2: lethal manner. And my guess is with one of the
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  Speaker 2: first shots. Whereas with the lethal injection, who the hell knows?
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  Speaker 2: How many times have we seen people sit there and
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  Speaker 2: writhe around in pain and not die right away? Whole
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  Speaker 2: bunch of times. So if I was getting executed, I
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  Speaker 2: would probably choose death by firing squad. Seems to me
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  Speaker 2: that that's the most efficient way to go. For the
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  Speaker 2: people on death row, a jury convicted them of their
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  Speaker 2: crimes and they were lawfully sentenced to death, wrote Little.
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  Speaker 2: It is the responsibility of the state of Idaho to
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  Speaker 2: follow the law and ensure that lawful criminal sentences are
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  Speaker 2: carried out. And that's really what it comes down to.
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  Speaker 2: If the people of Idaho don't want the death penalty
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  Speaker 2: on the books, Then they should vote for it and
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  Speaker 2: get it off the books, get it on the ballot,
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  Speaker 2: and get it out of there. But as of now,
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  Speaker 2: with the death penalty on the books, the state really
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  Speaker 2: had no other option but to follow through and look
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  Speaker 2: for a new method. Last month, the families of both
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  Speaker 2: Kaylee and Madison filed notices indicating their support for the
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  Speaker 2: death penalty. The two University of Idaho students were lifelong
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  Speaker 2: best friends before they were brutally stabbed to death in
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  Speaker 2: the off-campus home they rented, along with Zanna.
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  Speaker 1: And Mr.
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  Speaker 2: Gonsalves has been very adamant throughout this whole entire thing
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  Speaker 2: that he wants the death penalty. And I only see
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  Speaker 2: him beating that drum even harder as the trial approaches,
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  Speaker 2: because this is a man who's hell-bent on justice. Zanna's
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  Speaker 2: boyfriend Ethan was staying over the night of the murders,
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  Speaker 2: and two more roommates survived the shocking crime in Moscow, Idaho.
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  Speaker 2: We spoke with the prosecutor on the case, Mr. Thompson,
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  Speaker 2: He's going to meet with the families individually and then
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  Speaker 2: make a decision based on that. So the Gonsalves family
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  Speaker 2: obviously supports the death penalty in this case. Shannon Gray,
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  Speaker 2: the Gonsalves family attorney, told News Nation. Yeah, again, they've
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  Speaker 2: been very adamant about where they stand. They haven't been
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  Speaker 2: shy about talking about what they want as punishment if
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  Speaker 2: Brian Kohlberger is convicted here. They want justice for the
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  Speaker 2: deaths of their daughter and Maddie and Zanna and Ethan
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  Speaker 2: Gray said. It's part of the process. You know, the
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  Speaker 2: tort claims notice that I filed is just standard procedure.
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  Speaker 2: They're trying to protect themselves and that way they can
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  Speaker 2: have a lawsuit later on down the road. And filing
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  Speaker 2: that tort claim gives them that ability, that flexibility later
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  Speaker 2: on to revisit the possibility of perhaps filing a lawsuit.
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  Speaker 2: And again, I don't know what they would be suing
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  Speaker 2: here or who they'd be suing, but I'm not in
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  Speaker 2: the back room with them. I don't have all of
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  Speaker 2: the facts. So if this is what their legal representation
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  Speaker 2: has advised them to do, then that's the advice that
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  Speaker 2: they should be following. That's something that has to be
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  Speaker 2: filed to protect the interests not only of the families,
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  Speaker 2: but the victims and the community. Meanwhile, Gray shared that
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  Speaker 2: the families are looking to take legal action against the
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  Speaker 2: city of Moscow, Idaho, where the killings took place. Filings
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  Speaker 2: dated May 3rd and May 11th by the Gonsalves and
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  Speaker 2: Mogan families revealed that they could sue the city for damages,
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  Speaker 2: according to documents obtained by ABC News. And that's an
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  Speaker 2: interesting angle, I guess. I don't see how the city
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  Speaker 2: of Moscow is culpable here, but I'm sure that Shannon
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  Speaker 2: Gray has a game plan. Gray told the outlet that
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  Speaker 2: the filed claims protect the family's rights to file a
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  Speaker 2: lawsuit in the next two years. Filing a tort claims
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  Speaker 2: notice is really just a safeguard, Gray told ABC News.
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  Speaker 2: It's a safeguard to protect the interests of the families,
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  Speaker 2: the victims, and really the whole community around, because if
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  Speaker 2: something goes wrong or was done improperly, then someone is
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  Speaker 2: held accountable.
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  Speaker 1: For that. Hey, look, accountability is a good thing.
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  Speaker 2: And our elected and public officials should be accountable for
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  Speaker 2: the decisions and the actions that they're involved in. And obviously,
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  Speaker 2: if there was some sort of misdeed or misstep made
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  Speaker 2: by Moscow police, they should be held responsible.
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  Speaker 1: But I don't know where that misstep might have come.
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  Speaker 2: Now, again, we don't know the back and forth that's
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  Speaker 2: going on between the Gonsalves family and between the city
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  Speaker 2: of Moscow. We know that the relationship has always been contentious.
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  Speaker 2: Similar claims have been filed with Washington State University, the
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  Speaker 2: University of Idaho, and Idaho State Police, Gray told ABC News.
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  Speaker 2: Those aren't meant to do anything other than protect the
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  Speaker 2: interests of the families and the victims moving forward.
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  Speaker 1: Well, there it is, folks.
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  Speaker 2: Again, the Gonsalves family coming out and not mincing words.
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  Speaker 2: They want the death penalty, and not only do they
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  Speaker 2: want the death penalty, they want the death penalty by
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  Speaker 2: a firing squad. All right, folks, that's going to do
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  Speaker 2: it for this one. All of the information that goes
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  Speaker 2: with the episode can be found in the description box.