Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador responded Sunday to a petition for post-conviction relief filed by Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted in the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students, saying his office is prepared to ensure justice is upheld.

Kohberger’s petition seeks to reopen the case surrounding the killings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. The four students were slain in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022 in a case that drew national attention.

Labrador issued a statement from Boise on July 27, expressing sympathy for the victims’ families while making clear his office would not yield ground on the conviction. “My heart goes out to the families of Madison, Kaylee, Xana, and Ethan, who have already endured unimaginable loss and now must face today’s deeply painful news,” Labrador said.

The attorney general added that his office stands ready to ensure justice is carried out. Labrador, Idaho’s 33rd attorney general, oversees the office that provides legal representation to state agencies and, in cases of this nature, defends criminal convictions on appeal.

Post-conviction relief petitions are a legal mechanism available to convicted individuals who allege constitutional or procedural errors in their original trial. Filing such a petition does not automatically reopen a case or result in a new trial.

The Kohberger case has remained a focal point of public interest in Idaho since the killings. The petition’s filing adds a new legal chapter for families who had hoped the conviction would mark the case’s conclusion. Labrador’s office is expected to file a formal legal response in the coming weeks.

The Kohberger case is among the highest-profile criminal matters in Idaho in recent memory. For related coverage of criminal justice issues in the state, see two Idaho death row inmates suing over the state’s firing squad law.