State And Federal Info
The death penalty was established in Idaho in 1864, before statehood. Since 1864, Idaho has carried out 29 executions. In 1901, executions were moved to Idaho’s state prison. Prior to that, executions were carried out on a county level, and were often public. Idaho’s last hanging was conducted in 1957.
Donald Paradis spent 14 years on death row in Idaho before his murder convictions were overturned and he was released from prison. Two murders were committed in Paradis’ home in Washington, but he was not present at the time. When he returned home and found the two bodies, he helped transport them across the state line to Idaho. Although Paradis was acquitted of the murders in Washington, a medical examiner suggested that one of the victims may have been killed in Idaho, and Paradis was tried and convicted there. Paradis’ lawyer had never studied criminal law or tried a case before a jury, and he was working as a police officer at the same time he was representing Paradis. In 2001, Paradis pleaded guilty to moving the bodies after the murder. He was sentenced to 5 years and released on time served.
Charles Fain was convicted of murder in 1983. Several witnesses testified that Fain was living in Oregon at the time of the crime, and that he only returned to Idaho the following month. Fain agreed to provide hair samples to investigators, and an FBI expert testified that the samples matched evidence from the crime scene. New DNA testing methods used in 2001 not only excluded Fain as a suspect, but pointed to two other suspects. Fain’s conviction was vacated, and prosecutors stated that “justice requires the action we have taken today,” indicating that the investigation for the killer would be re-opened.
In 1864, the year after Idaho became a territory, the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Idaho established the death penalty. The first territorial execution occurred the same year.
Capital punishment was reinstated in Idaho on July 7, 1973, after the United States Supreme Court struck down all death penalty statutes across the country in the 1972 Furman v. Georgia decision.
Lethal Injection
Dec 19, 2022
The three final executions scheduled in 2022 highlighted broader trends in the year’s executions — the execution of vulnerable defendants, unavailability of lethal-injection drugs, and the scheduling of executions without regard for the ability to…
Upcoming Executions
Dec 02, 2022
Idaho has called off the scheduled December 15, 2022 execution of terminally death-row prisoner Gerald Pizzuto, Jr. (pictured), saying it has not been able to obtain the drugs it needs to put him to death. Instea…
Clemency
Aug 25, 2022
The Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s constitution permits a governor to reject clemency recommendations made by the Commission of Pardons and Parole, reversing a lower court’s decision that had blocked the state from…
Arbitrariness
Jul 18, 2022
A new study suggests that Idaho’s capital punishment statute fails to narrow the use of the death penalty to the “worst of the worst” crimes, raising questions about its constitutionality. In
Costs
Jun 24, 2022
The city of Idaho Falls, Idaho has agreed to a settlement of $11.7 million with an exoneree who spent 20 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. Christopher Tapp (pictured, center, with St…
Recent Legislative Activity
Mar 30, 2022
Idaho Governor Brad Little on March 25, 2022, signed into law an execution secrecy bill that conceals from the public and the courts information on the producers and suppliers of drugs used in executions in the state. Hou…
Recent Legislative Activity
Mar 11, 2022
Bills to increase secrecy in the conduct of executions have met different fates in Florida and Idaho. Florida legislators on March 7, 2022 gave final legislative approval to a bill that would conceal the identity …
Clemency
Feb 07, 2022
An Idaho trial court judge has resentenced Gerald Pizzuto, Jr. to life without parole, ruling that Governor Brad Little lacked legal authority to reject the state Commission of Pardons and Parole’…
Lethal Injection
Jan 21, 2022
Idaho prison officials engaged in cloak and dagger practices, including twice sending state employees across state lines to make cash purchases of controlled substances intended for executions, actively concealing the intended use…
Innocence
Jan 07, 2022
As 2021 came to a close, editorial writers in four death penalty states called for legislative and executive action to end capital punishment or further limit its use. Editorial boards for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
