Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Idaho .
When the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous.
In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial). [1]
The power of clemency belongs to the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole. [2]
Lethal injection is the primary method applied to carry out a capital sentence. Should the state not have the material ability to carry out the capital sentence through the primary method five days following the issuance of the warrant of execution, a firing squad is to be used. [3]
Men on death row are incarcerated in Idaho Maximum Security Institution near Kuna, and women in Pocatello Women's Correctional Center. [4]
First-degree murder can be punished with death if it involves any of the following aggravating factors: [5]
Under Title 18, Chapter 45, Section 05 (4505) of the Idaho Statutes, the death penalty can also applied for kidnapping in the first-degree, provided that the kidnapping involved any of the following aggravating factors, though it is unenforceable under Kennedy v. Louisiana :
Idaho statutes provides the death penalty for perjury causing execution of an innocent person as well. The death penalty can be applied in any case for perjury causing execution of an innocent person and no aggravated factors have to be proven in order for the death penalty to be given.
Idaho Territory was created in 1863 and executed 14 men, all by hanging. With statehood in 1890, another twelve men were executed through 1957, all by hanging; Idaho has never executed a woman. [6] There were no executions from 1958 to 1972, when the United States Supreme Court decision Furman v. Georgia struck down all death penalty statutes across the United States and created an effective moratorium on executions. [7]
Idaho passed new statutes on July 7, 1973, and the 1976 case Gregg v. Georgia lifted the moratorium. [8] Hanging was the state's sole method of execution between that time and the 1978 adoption of lethal injection by the state legislature. [9] The firing squad was added by the legislature in 1982 as an alternative option to lethal injection. [10] Never used, it was removed in 2009, [11] which left lethal injection as the sole execution method. [12]
In 1982, the Idaho Department of Corrections purchased a mobile home and converted it to serve as an execution chamber. [13] This was used only once, for the execution of Keith Wells in 1994. The state introduced a new permanent execution chamber in 2011, which it used for the execution of Paul Ezra Rhoades that year and Richard Albert Leavitt in 2012. [14]
On March 20, 2023, the legislature passed a bill to reintroduce the firing squad, given difficulties in obtaining lethal injection drugs, and Governor Brad Little signed it into law. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
In 2024, Idaho saw moves to allow the death penalty for defendants convicted of child rape. [24] It passed the Idaho House of Representatives with a 56-12 vote. [25] [26] However, it didn't pass the Idaho Senate. [27]
On January 21, 2025, state lawmakers were considering a proposal to legislate the firing squad as the primary method of execution instead of lethal injection. [28] The bill, which was co-sponsored by 16 Idaho Republican House lawmakers, subsequently advanced to the House in state legislature, [29] where it swiftly passed by a majority vote of 58-11 on February 6, 2025. [30] The bill was then passed on to the Idaho Senate and is currently pending approval to be passed into law. [31]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
