Entries tagged with “Bree Derrick”

Executions

Jul 22, 2026

Idaho Death-Sentenced Prisoners Challenge ​“Arbitrary” and ​“Capricious” Firing Squad Protocol

In March, the Idaho leg­is­la­ture passed a law exempt­ing exe­cu­tion pro­ce­dures from admin­is­tra­tive over­sight require­ments — seem­ing­ly designed to under­mine a pend­ing law­suit filed by death-sen­­tenced pris­on­er Gerald Pizzuto. After the fir­ing squad took effect as Idaho’s pri­ma­ry exe­cu­tion method on July 1, Mr. Pizzuto, along­side fel­low pris­on­er Thomas Creech, again sued the state on July 6 for alleged admin­is­tra­tive vio­la­tions. Mr. Pizzuto ini­tial­ly sued the state in…

Executions

Apr 08, 2026

New Idaho Law Shields Execution Procedures from Judicial Review and Public Scrutiny

Idaho law empow­ers state courts to review and block cer­tain gov­ern­ment actions, such as those imposed with­out notice or pub­lic input, as well as pol­i­cy changes that are​“arbi­trary, capri­cious, or an abuse of dis­cre­tion.” However, a bill signed March 31 by Gov. Brad Little (R) exempts exe­cu­tion pro­ce­dures from these over­sight require­ments. If the prison direc­tor decides to alter the exe­cu­tion pro­to­col, death-sen­­tenced pris­on­ers will only be able to challenge those…