Constitution of the United States of America, Freedom Documents

I D A H O S T A T E L E G I S L A T U R E

TITLE 19 CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CHAPTER 27 - EXECUTION

19-2701.Authority for execution of judgment. When a judgment, other than of death, has been pronounced, a certified copy of the entry thereof upon the minutes must be forthwith furnished to the officer whose duty it is to execute the judgment, and no other warrant or authority is necessary to justify or require its execution.

19-2702.Execution on judgment for fine. If the judgment includes the payment of a fine, or costs, or fine and costs, or other monetary sums, execution may be issued thereon for such sums as on a judgment in a civil action.

19-2703.Execution of judgment of imprisonment. If the judgment is for imprisonment, or a fine and imprisonment until it be paid, the defendant must forthwith be committed to the custody of the proper officer, and by him detained until the judgment is complied with.

19-2704.Delivery of defendant to penitentiary guard. If judgment is for imprisonment in the state prison, or for the infliction of the death penalty, the sheriff of the county must, upon receipt of the certified copy of judgment, hold the prisoner in his custody until demand for such prisoner is made upon him by the duly authorized guard of said prison, who may be sent to convey such prisoner to the state prison. When such demand is made upon the sheriff by said guard, the sheriff shall deliver the prisoner and said copy of the judgment to said guard, and take a receipt from said guard for the prisoner and said copy of the judgment.

19-2705.Death sentence or death warrant and confinement thereunder -- Access to condemned person. (1) Whenever a person is sentenced to death, the judge passing sentence shall, in accordance with section 19-2719, Idaho Code, sign and file a death warrant fixing a date of execution not more than thirty (30) days thereafter. (2) The warrant shall be directed to the director of the Idaho department of correction and shall be delivered to him forthwith. (3) Whenever a person is under death warrant, execution of which has not been stayed, the warden of the prison in which the person is incarcerated shall keep the condemned person in solitary confinement until execution. No person shall be allowed access to the condemned person except law enforcement personnel investigating matters within the scope of their duties, the attorney of record, attending physicians, a spiritual adviser of the condemned’s choosing, and members of the immediate family of the condemned, and then only in accordance with prison rules. Persons under death warrant will be allowed contact visits with their attorneys of record and the agents of their attorneys of record. Such visits will take place subject to prison rules. No other contact visits shall be permitted. Prison officials have authority to suspend or deny visits when the safe, secure and orderly operation of the facility or public safety could be compromised. (4) For purposes of this section a "contact visit" is defined as a meeting between a condemned person and another person during which the parties are not separated by a screen or other partition which prohibits physical contact. Contact visits with attorneys of record or agents of the attorneys of record will take place in a private, confidential setting where the prisoner and his attorney are in the same room. (5) For the purposes of this section, "agents of the attorneys of record" means employees of the attorneys of record including investigators, paralegals, legal interns and mitigation specialists but does not include retained experts or other independent contractors of the attorneys of record. (6) For the purposes of this section, "legal intern" means a qualified law student or recent law school graduate who, upon application and approval by the Idaho state bar association, is granted a limited license to engage in the practice of law. (7) No person shall be allowed access to the condemned person under death warrant except law enforcement personnel investigating matters within the scope of their duties, the condemned person’s attorneys of record, the agents of the condemned person’s attorneys of record, attending physicians, spiritual advisers of the condemned person’s choosing and approved visitors. (8) When a person has been sentenced to death, but the death warrant has been stayed, contact visits between the condemned person and persons other than his attorneys of record and the agents of the attorneys of record may be allowed at the discretion of prison officials. (9) All visits, contact or noncontact, with a condemned person, whether such person is under sentence of death or death warrant, shall take place only in accordance with prison rules. Prison officials shall have the authority to suspend or deny such visits when public safety or the safe, secure and orderly operation of the prison could be compromised. (10) In the seven (7) days immediately preceding the scheduled execution of a condemned person, the condemned person may have contact visits with spiritual advisers of the condemned person’s choosing and members of the condemned person’s family, in addition to the attorneys of record and the agents of the attorneys of record. (11) When a person has been sentenced to death, but the death warrant has been stayed, the warden is not required to hold such person in solitary confinement or to restrict access to him until the stay of the death warrant is lifted or a new death warrant is issued by the sentencing court; provided however, no condemned person shall be housed in less than maximum security confinement, and provided further that nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the warden’s discretion to house such person under conditions more restrictive if necessary to ensure public safety or the safe, secure and orderly operation of the facility. (12) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a liberty interest in the condemned person or to expand the right of access to courts under state or federal law.

19-2708.Suspension of judgment of death. No judge, court or officer, can suspend the execution of a judgment of death, except as provided in sections 19-2715 and 19-2719, Idaho Code.

19-2713.Proceedings when female supposed to be pregnant. If there is good reason to suppose that a female against whom a judgment of death is rendered is pregnant, the sheriff of the county, with the concurrence of the judge of the court by which the judgment was rendered, may summon a jury of three (3) physicians to inquire into the supposed pregnancy. Immediate notice thereof must be given to the prosecuting attorney of the county, and the provisions of sections 19-2710, 19-2711 apply to the proceedings upon the inquisition.

19-2714.Finding in case of pregnancy. If it is found by the report that the female is not pregnant, the warden must execute the judgment; if it is found that she is pregnant, the warden must suspend the execution of the judgment, and transmit the report to the district court that imposed the sentence. When the district court that imposed the sentence is satisfied that the female is no longer pregnant, he may issue his warrant appointing a day for the execution of the judgment.

19-2715.Ministerial actions relating to stays of execution, resetting execution dates, and order for execution of judgment of death. (1) Hereafter, no further stays of execution shall be granted to persons sentenced to death except that a stay of execution shall be granted during an appeal taken pursuant to section 19-2719, Idaho Code, and during the automatic review of judgments imposing the punishment of death provided by section 19-2827, Idaho Code. (2) Upon remittitur after a sentence of death has been affirmed, the district court shall set a new execution date not more than thirty (30) days thereafter. (3) If for any reason a judgment of death has not been executed, and it remains in force, the court in which the conviction was had, on the application of the prosecuting attorney, must order the defendant to be brought before it, or if he is at large a warrant for his apprehension may be issued. Upon the defendant being brought before the court, the court must inquire into the facts, and if no legal reason exists against the execution of the judgment, must make an order that the warden execute the judgment at a special specified time. The warden must execute the judgment accordingly. (4) Action of the district court under this section is ministerial only. No hearing shall be required for setting a new execution date and the court shall inquire only into the fact of an existing death sentence and the absence of a valid stay of execution.

19-2716.Infliction of death penalty. The punishment of death shall be inflicted by continuous, intravenous administration of a lethal quantity of an ultra-short-acting barbituate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent until death is pronounced by a physician licensed under the provisions of chapter 18, title 54, Idaho Code, in accordance with accepted medical standards. The director of the department of correction shall determine the substance or substances to be used and the procedures to be used in any execution; provided, however, that, in any case where the director finds it to be impractical to carry out the punishment of death by administration of the required lethal substance or substances for the reason that it is not reasonably possible to obtain expert technical assistance, should such be necessary to assure that infliction of death by administration of such substance or substances can be carried out in a manner which causes death without unnecessary suffering, the sentence of death may be carried out by firing squad, the number of members of which shall be determined by the director; and provided further, that any infliction of the punishment of death by administration of the required lethal substance or substances in the manner required by this section shall not be construed to be the practice of medicine and any pharmacist or pharmaceutical supplier is authorized to dispense drugs to the director or his designee, without prescription, for carrying out the provisions of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of law. This act shall apply to all executions carried out on and after the effective date of this enactment, irrespective of the date sentence was imposed.

19-2718.Return of death warrant. After the execution, the executioner must make a return upon the death warrant, showing the time, mode and manner in which it was executed.

19-2719.Special appellate and post-convictionprocedure for capital cases -- Automatic stay. Thefollowing special procedures shall be interpreted to accomplish thepurpose of eliminating unnecessary delay in carrying out a valid deathsentence. (1) When the punishment of death is imposed the time forfiling an appeal shall begin to run when the death warrant is filed. (2) The death warrant shall not be filed until forty-two(42) days after the judgment imposing the death sentence has beenfiled, or, in the event a post-conviction challenge to the convictionor sentence is filed, until the order deciding such post-convictionchallenge is filed. (3) Within forty-two (42) days of the filing of the judgmentimposing the punishment of death, and before the death warrant isfiled, the defendant must file any legal or factual challenge to thesentence or conviction that is known or reasonably should be known. (4) Any remedy available by post-conviction procedure, habeascorpus or any other provision of state law must be pursued accordingto the procedures set forth in this section and within the time limitationsof subsection (3) of this section. The special procedures for fingerprintor forensic DNA testing set forth in sections 19-4901(a)(6) and 19-4902(b) through(f), Idaho Code, are fully applicable in capital cases and are subjectto the procedures set forth in this section, and must be pursued througha petition filed within the time limitations of subsection (3) ofthis section or by July 1, 2002, whichever is later. (5) If the defendant fails to apply for relief as providedin this section and within the time limits specified, he shall bedeemed to have waived such claims for relief as were known, or reasonablyshould have been known. The courts of Idaho shall have no power toconsider any such claims for relief as have been so waived or grantany such relief. (a) An allegation that a successive post-conviction petitionmay be heard because of the applicability of the exception hereinfor issues that were not known or could not reasonably have been knownshall not be considered unless the applicant shows the existence ofsuch issues by (i) a precise statement of the issue or issues assertedtogether with (ii) material facts stated under oath or affirmationby credible persons with first hand knowledge that would support theissue or issues asserted. A pleading that fails to make a showingof excepted issues supported by material facts, or which is not credible,must be summarily dismissed. (b) A successive post-conviction pleading asserting theexception shall be deemed facially insufficient to the extent it allegesmatters that are cumulative or impeaching or would not, even if theallegations were true, cast doubt on the reliability of the convictionor sentence. (c) A successive post-conviction pleading asserting theexception shall be deemed facially insufficient to the extent it seeksretroactive application of new rules of law. (6) In the event the defendant desires to appeal from anypost-conviction order entered pursuant to this section, his appealmust be part of any appeal taken from the conviction or sentence.All issues relating to conviction, sentence and post-conviction challengeshall be considered in the same appellate proceeding. (7) If post-conviction challenge is made under this section,questions raised thereby shall be heard and decided by the districtcourt within ninety (90) days of the filing of any motion or petitionfor relief timely filed as provided by this section. The court shallgive first priority to capital cases. In the event the district courtfails to act within the time specified, the supreme court of Idahoshall, on its own motion or the motion of any party, order the courtto proceed forthwith, or if appropriate, reassign the case to anotherjudge. When the supreme court intervenes as provided, it shall seta reasonable time limit for disposition of the issues before the districtcourt. (8) The time limit provided in subsection (7) of this sectionfor disposition of post-conviction claims may be extended only upona showing of extraordinary circumstances which would make it impossibleto fairly consider defendant’s claims in the time provided. Such showingmust be made under oath and the district court’s finding that extraordinarycircumstances exist for extending the time shall be in writing andshall be immediately reported to the supreme court, which shall atonce independently consider the sufficiency of the circumstances shownand determine whether an extension of time is warranted. (9) When a judgment imposing the penalty of death is filed,the clerk and the reporter shall begin preparation of the transcriptsof the trial, and other proceedings, and the clerk’s transcript. (10) When the procedures specified in this section and section 19-2827, Idaho Code,have been carried out and a remittitur issued, and an execution dateset as provided by law, the defendant shall be deemed to have exhaustedall state remedies. (11) Any successive petition for post-conviction relief notwithin the exception of subsection (5) of this section shall be dismissedsummarily. Notwithstanding any other statute or rule, the order ofdismissal shall not be subject to any motion to alter, amend or reconsider.Such order shall not be subject to any requirement for the givingof notice of the court’s intent to dismiss. The order of dismissalshall not be appealable. (12) A stay of execution while the special appellate proceduresspecified herein are followed and during the pendency of automaticreview of death sentences shall be automatically entered by the clerkof the supreme court at the time the district court transmits to thesupreme court the report required by section 19-2827, Idaho Code.If the sentence is upheld, the clerk shall dissolve such stay whenthe remittitur is filed. Thereafter the district court shall set anew execution date.

19-2719a.Applicability of sections 19-2705, 19-2708, 19-2714, 19-2715, 19-2719. This act shall apply to all cases in which capital sentences where imposed on or prior to the effective date of this act but which have not been carried out, and to all capital cases arising after the effective date of this act.

19-2720.Inquiry into need for new counsel. After the imposition of a sentence of death, the trial judge should advise the defendant that, upon a particularized showing that there is a reasonable basis to litigate a claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, new counsel may be appointed to represent the defendant to pursue such a claim in a post-conviction proceeding. If no such request is made, the trial judge shall certify of record that there are no facts that have come to the court’s attention upon which such a claim could reasonably be based or, alternatively, the court may appoint new counsel. No deficiency in the application of the procedure described herein shall be grounds for relief from a judgment of conviction or from a sentence.

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