Utah County is asking state lawmakers to chip in $2 million to help it pay the prosecution — and defense — costs in the potential death penalty case against Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah man accused of fatally shooting conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University last fall.
A judge has determined that Robinson can’t afford for his own legal team, so the county is required to provide him with one.
Utah County’s ask of the Legislature is unusual, given that county prosecutors’ costs and the public defender system have historically been funded entirely by individual counties. While there is now a state-funded grant system to pay for public defenders for counties, Utah County did not opt for that route.
Ezra Nair, the Utah County administrator, told lawmakers on Monday that the direct state-level spending was warranted.
“This is not a standard case,” Nair said, “or even a standard capital case.”
Nair explained that there’s been added costs in Robinson’s case compared to other death penalty-eligible cases because of how much public attention the case has received: Prosecutors have been required to have “unprecedented attention to detail” in filings, there’s been increased security costs, and the county is paying Robinson’s lawyers a higher rate compared to other cases.
And, Nair added, the county expects jury selection to potentially take months because of publicity.
There is a state-managed fund that counties can pay into, a sort of insurance policy from which county officials can request money from if they have a death penalty-eligible case. But Utah County doesn’t pay into that pot — and instead uses its own money to contract with individual attorneys.
So that means that Utah County taxpayers are footing the significant bill.
Neither Kirk nor Robinson are from Utah County — and Kirk was killed at Utah Valley University, which is state-owned land, Nair noted in his comments to the Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee.
“We’re asking the state to partner for a portion of these costs,” Nair said.
County officials have already earmarked $1 million in local funding for Robinson’s case. Rep. David Shallenberger, R-Utah County, submitted the new funding request, which seeks a one-time $2 million from the 2026 state budget.
The money would help ensure fair representation for Robinson and reduce the risk of a retrial, he wrote in his request. And, he added: “Utah will avoid any appearance of embarrassment due to a lack of funds.”
Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran noted in a statement posted on X that paying for prosecution and indigent defense are “constitutionally state responsibilities,” but Utah delegates that cost to individual counties.
“Let me be clear, Utah County is not asking for help out of desperation,” he wrote. “… In an unprecedented, high-cost case like this, we feel it is reasonable to ask the state help share in those extraordinary costs.”
Beltran said the county’s request aims to protext Utah County taxpayers “while still ensuring justice is fully and properly carried out.”
When someone is charged with a crime, it’s their constitutional right to have an attorney in the courtroom representing them. But if they can’t afford a lawyer, it’s the government’s responsibility to pay for and provide them one.
Utah has been criticized in the past for the way it handles public defender costs, which, in other places, are often paid for at a state level rather than passing on those costs to a county.
The state started chipping in to pay for public defenders a decade ago, when it created the Utah Indigent Defense Commission. The commission, which doles out about $7 million in state funds annually, has typically focused on grants for rural counties.
Nair said Monday that Utah County typically spends about $13 million a year on public defenders, and another $16 million funding prosecutors.
The county likely won’t know whether it will receive the requested funding until near the end of the legislative session, when lawmakers pass the state budget in early March.