Idaho | New Death Sentence, Updates on Executions, and Lethal Injection Drug Purchase

Media reported that the Idaho Department of Corrections had purchased three doses of pentobarbital, the drug used in lethal injections, for $100,000

On June 1, 2024, an Idaho jury sentenced Chad Daybell to death for the 2019 murders of his first wife and his second wife’s two youngest children. Mr. Daybell pleaded not guilty to multiple first-degree murder, fraud, and conspiracy charges, but after being found guilty, he chose to waive his right to present mitigating evidence during his sentencing hearing.

With this decision, Mr. Daybell declined the opportunity to provide the jury with reasons why he should not be sentenced to death. Judge Steven Boyce confirmed with Mr. Daybell that he did not intend to present any mitigation and Mr. Daybell said, “that is my choice.” John Prior, his only defense attorney, argued in opening and closing statements that Mr. Daybell’s second wife, Lori Daybell, had changed him and “created the person who committed these crimes.” Lori Daybell was found guilty in an earlier trial and sentenced to three life sentences. She is currently awaiting trial in Arizona on a separate murder change.

Following their release from jury duty, two jurors spoke with local news and discussed Mr. Daybell’s decision not to present mitigating evidence. One of the jurors, Tracie Bradley, said when it came to determining the sentence, “it’s like there was no mitigating circumstances to not justify the death penalty after what he did.” Ms. Bradley added that “it was very shocking that [Mr. Daybell] wouldn’t say anything.” In 1976, the United States Supreme Court held that juries must consider the character and record of individual defendants before imposing a death sentence. The Court noted that “the fundamental respect for humanity” underlying the Eighth Amendment required such considerations. These considerations are usually considered in the sentencing phase, so that the jury can make an individualized sentencing determination.

During the final days of Mr. Daybell’s trial, media reported that the Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) had purchased three doses of pentobarbital, the drug used in lethal injections, for $100,000. This purchase price is double what IDOC spent in October 2023 for the same kind and quantity of drugs. In 2011 and 2012, IDOC paid about $25,000 for the pentobarbital used in the state’s last two executions.

In February 2024, IDOC unsuccessfully attempted to execute Thomas Creech because of difficulties establishing an IV line. Mr. Creech has been on death row for nearly 50 years, and his attorney alleges that he “is still struggling with severe mental health trauma due to the botched execution.” For Mr. Creech’s scheduled execution, IDOC officials prepared two of three doses of pentobarbital in their possession, leaving just one dose remaining for future use. Josh Tewalt, the Director of IDOC, acknowledged after pausing Mr. Creech’s execution that they would need more pentobarbital to carry out future lethal injection executions, and was confident they could acquire those drugs when necessary. Attorneys for Mr. Creech have renewed their claims of cruel and unusual punishment because of the more than eight times the execution team attempted to establish an IV line to administer the execution drug.

Prior to Mr. Creech’s botched execution, the state of Idaho issued three separate death warrants for Gerald Pizzuto, with each date being postponed. At least one of these dates was postponed because of the state’s inability to acquire lethal injection drugs. Mr. Pizzuto, who has been on death row for nearly 40 years, has been receiving hospice treatment for late-stage bladder cancer for more than three years. Mr. Pizzuto’s March 2023 scheduled execution was indefinitely paused by U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill, who granted him a hearing in his claim that the state of Idaho violates his Constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment by repeatedly scheduling execution dates while knowing the state does not have the means to carry it out.

Mr. Pizzuto also filed a legal claim seeking the presence of a religious advisor in the execution chamber. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Ramirez v. Collier, the Idaho DOC voluntarily agreed to his requests. But the IDOC has not changed its written policy, which does not allow for a spiritual advisor in the chamber. When the IDOC moved to dismiss the lawsuit on mootness grounds, Mr. Pizzuto argued the case should remain live until the written policies were changed but the district court dismissed, saying he no longer had a personal stake in the case.

Attorneys for Mr. Pizzuto have also asked that the U.S. District Court bar Idaho from attempting another execution of Mr. Creech, arguing that he is a material witness who can prove Idaho’s inability to carry out an execution without violating his constitutional rights. “If the [state of Idaho is] permitted to destroy Mr. Pizzuto’s opportunity to present this court with the testimony of Mr. Creech by executing him, Mr. Pizzuto faces irreparable harm,” said Mr. Pizzuto’s defense attorneys. They added that “without Mr. Creech’s testimony, the [state] can simply assert, as they previously have, that the execution team will make no mistakes during Mr. Pizzuto’s execution.”

Source: Death Penalty Information Center, Staff, June 6, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Facebook | Telegram | Contact Us

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Burkina Faso to bring back death penalty

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced on Thursday. "This draft penal code reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the information service of the Burkinabe government. Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog