• Passed a bill in March 2003, exempt­ing the men­tal­ly retard­ed from the death penal­ty in which retar­da­tion, described as ​“sig­nif­i­cant­ly sub­av­er­age gen­er­al intel­lec­tu­al func­tion­ing,” will be deter­mined before the tri­al. For more infor­ma­tion regard­ing this leg­is­la­tion, Click Here.
  • Idaho Governor Signs Bill to Allow for Jury Sentencing In February 2003, Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne signed to pro­vide for jury sen­tenc­ing in cap­i­tal cas­es. The new law, which shifts the respon­si­bil­i­ty of impos­ing the death penal­ty from judges to juries, was enact­ed in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s deci­sion in Ring v. Arizona. It is unclear whether or not the new Idaho law will apply retroac­tive­ly. (Associated Press, February 14, 2003)