Erika Kirk finally reveals stance on death penalty for husband’s killer

Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika, has broken her silence on whether she wants the man accused of killing her husband to face the death penalty.

Speaking to The New York Times, the 36-year-old former Miss Arizona said she would leave that decision to the government, insisting she doesn’t want “that man’s blood” on her conscience.

“I’ve had people ask, ‘Do you feel anger toward this man? Do you want to seek the death penalty?’ I told our lawyer, I want the government to decide this,” she said.

Kirk, who was named the new CEO of Turning Point USA just days after her husband’s assassination, said her Christian faith won’t allow her to demand vengeance.

“I do not want that man’s blood on my ledger,” she explained. “Because when I get to heaven, and Jesus is like: ‘Eye for an eye? Is that how we do it?’ And that keeps me from being with Charlie?”

Erika also revealed the heartbreaking moment she learned her 31-year-old husband had been shot on September 10 in Orem, Utah. She was in Arizona with her mother, who was undergoing medical treatment, when she got a frantic call saying: “He’s been shot!”

She rushed into one of Charlie’s chartered planes but got to Utah too late — he was already gone. At the hospital, she insisted on seeing his body despite warnings from the sheriff about the gunshot wound.

“With all due respect, I want to see what they did to my husband,” she recalled. “His eyes were semi-open, and he had this knowing, Mona Lisa-like smile. Like he’d died happy. Like Jesus rescued him.”

Tyler Robinson, 22, is accused of fatally shooting Kirk during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University. He was arrested two days later.

Turning Point USA confirmed Erika’s appointment as CEO and Board Chair, saying it was in line with Charlie’s wishes. “As Charlie always said, ‘We have a country to save.’ We will not surrender or kneel before evil,” the group wrote in a statement.

At Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona, Erika thanked President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance for their support, vowing to carry on her late husband’s legacy.

“Charlie, I promise I will never let your legacy die,” she said tearfully. “I’ll make Turning Point USA the biggest thing this nation has ever seen.”