Kohberger is being held in a single-person cell, will be moved around wearing restraints and only allowed to shower every other day. According to the Idaho Department of Corrections, he will also be given 60 minutes of outdoor recreation a day. The Idaho Maximum Security Institution, 20 minutes outside of Boise, has previously been accused of inhumane treatment by those in solitary confinement.

Inmates in isolation have said that they are kept in ‘cages’ during recreational time, which they described as ‘large chain link-like metal boxes each man is placed into, littered with human urine and feces that have soaked into the concrete.’ In 2024, dozens organized a six-day hunger strike, claiming delays in access to medical care and horrific living conditions, as reported by the Idaho Statesman. They said that the HVAC system had not been cleaned in decades and was clogged with garbage and human excrement.

The Idaho Department of Correction told CNN that the cages were ‘recreation enclosures’ and regularly cleaned. Inmates could also ask for the vents in their cells to be cleaned. Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or appeal last month for the murders of University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, on November 13, 2022.

The prison holds the state’s execution chambers, where a firing squad could have shot Kohberger had he not taken a controversial plea deal. Triple murderer Chad Daybell, who killed his first wife and his second wife’s two children in 2019, is awaiting his execution at the prison. As previously reported, Kohberger will enjoy various privileges, including access to a TV, an electronic tablet with music, and emails, potentially affording him the opportunity to communicate with morbid fans.

To keep a tablet in his cell, Kohberger will have to pay $100, according to NewsNation. A TV will also cost him $100 and provide access to cable programming. Kohberger was moved to the prison after sentencing last month. In exchange for Kohberger admitting guilt and waiving his right to appeal, prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.

However, victims’ families remain divided over the legal resolution of the case. Relatives of Chapin and Mogen supported the plea deal. Mogen’s family said in a statement: ‘We now embark on a new path. We embark on a path of hope and healing.’

The family of Kaylee Goncalves have publicly denounced the outcome. Her sister, Aubrie Goncalves, 18, said in a Facebook post: ‘Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world. ‘Meanwhile, our loved ones have been silenced forever,’ she wrote.