This storywas republished courtesy of the Idaho Statesman.
Idaho inmate Gerald Pizzuto’s death sentence was reduced to life in prison by a state district court judge Friday — a ruling with far-reaching implications for the state after the judge found the governor has no power to reject a clemency recommendation in murder cases under the Idaho Constitution.
Judge Jay Gaskill, of Nez Perce County, ruled that the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole is the only body with the authority to commute an inmate’s sentence stemming from a murder conviction. The governor, meanwhile, possesses final say on cases of treason and impeachment.
Gaskill referred to the creation of the state’s commutation process in the 1980s and concluded that there’s no indication the governor should have been granted such overarching power.
“There is no indication that the founders or the people of the state of Idaho in 1986 intended to give the governor the ultimate decision-making authority with respect to whether a death sentence should be commuted,” Gaskill wrote. “This court finds that the commission’s power to issue commutations applies to all cases of offenses against the state except treason or conviction on impeachment.”
Under the action, the death sentence of Pizzuto, 65, who is terminally ill with late-stage bladder cancer, was dropped to life in prison without the chance of parole. Gaskill’s ruling prevents the state from issuing a death warrant to execute Pizzuto, who has been on Idaho death row since 1986.
The Federal Defender Services of Idaho, the nonprofit that represents Pizzuto, applauded Gaskill’s decision.
“We are grateful that the court upheld the just and merciful decision by the parole commission to let Jerry Pizzuto die in prison,” Deborah Czuba, supervising attorney of the nonprofit’s unit that oversees death penalty cases, said in a written statement. “As the court recognized, the Idaho Constitution wisely leaves commutation decisions to the commissioners, who the governor appoints based on their judgment and expertise in such matters. The people of Idaho have not given the governor the power to interfere in the commutation process, and as the court found he acted illegally here.
“We hope the state will now do the right thing and finally allow a dying man to pass away of natural causes in prison, rather than continuing to fight for an unnecessary execution through costly litigation at taxpayer expense,” Czuba added.
GOV. LITTLE RESPONDS, PLANS TO APPEAL COURT DECISION
Gov. Brad Little’s office said in a written statement that he will challenge the ruling, which will be filed with the Idaho Supreme Court. In December, the Republican governor denied the parole board’s recommendation in a 4-3 vote to reduce Pizzuto’s sentence to life in prison.
“One judge agreed with the federal defender that Idaho code violated the (Idaho) Constitution,” the written statement reads. “Gov. Little has followed the constitution and Idaho code as written. Gov. Little will challenge this ruling because the state must have the ability to carry out the death penalty as ordered by the court in this case. Pizzuto was convicted of rape, robbery and four brutally gruesome murders. This matter is now left for a higher court to ultimately decide.”
LaMont Anderson, chief of the capital litigation unit at the Idaho attorney general’s office, argued on behalf of the state in a Jan. 20 virtual hearing held in Gaskill’s court in opposition to the claim that the governor lacks the authority to approve or deny clemency decisions. Anderson also represented the state in another losing effort during Pizzuto’s Nov. 30 clemency hearing — just the second in Idaho for a death row inmate since 1976.
After an all-day clemency hearing and another day of closed-door deliberations for the parole board, the seven-member commission released its decision a month later on Dec. 30 recommending Pizzuto be allowed to die of natural causes in prison. The governor rejected it the same day.
The attorney general’s office declined to comment through spokesperson Scott Graf.
The Idaho Department of Correction, and Commission of Pardons and Parole, each declined to comment on the ruling through spokesperson Jeff Ray.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 4:31 PM by the Idaho Statesman.