Defense wants judge to remove death penalty option in deadly Lexington robbery

The attorneys for a man accused of killing a gas station clerk during a robbery are asking a judge to take the death penalty off the table in the case.

Travis Bredhold's attorneys argued in Fayette Circuit Court on Friday that the death penalty should be excluded in this case because their client was 18 at the time of the crime. They say it is unconstitutional to execute someone under 21.

The Commonwealth's attorney argued the law says anyone over 18 is eligible for death penalty, and that there is no prior ruling from the Kentucky Supreme Court that would back up the defense's argument.

Lexington Police say Bredhold

at a Marathon on Alexandria Drive in December 2013.

The defense team says that standards of decency are ever evolving in courts. They went on to argue that the brain does not fully mature until about age 25.

Judge Ernesto Scorsone agreed that the Kentucky Supreme Court hadn't made a ruling on this before. He said he would take the issue under advisement.

Judge Scorsone set the next pre-trial hearing in the case for July 14.