Idaho inmate Gerald Pizzuto has been on death row since May 1986.
His execution was most recently scheduled for Dec. 15. According to the Idaho Statesman, Idaho officials have not been able to secure the lethal injection drugs, meaning that they will likely let his death warrant lapse.
In the state of Idaho, lethal injection is the only way the state can perform an execution.
According to Boise State Public Radio, the state has to obtain the chemicals at least 20 days before execution and has now missed that deadline.
During Pizzuto’s 36-year period on death row, he has bypassed a death warrant.
Pizzuto’s attempts to have sentence changed to life in prison
On March 27, 1986, Pizzuto was convicted in the murders of Berta Herndon and Delbert Herndon during an armed robbery.
According to a court filing, Berta Herndon and Delbert Herndon were camping in Ruby Meadows near McCall, Idaho. Pizzuto and two other men robbed the cabin before the Herndons were murdered on July 25, 1985.
According to a summary statement for Pizzuto vs. State, “Pizzuto was convicted of two counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of felony murder, one count of robbery, and one count of grand theft.”
He has filed multiple times to dismiss or otherwise alter his death sentence. An opinion filed in August 2022 states that Pizzuto has filed six of these petitions.
The two counts of murder in the first degree led to his death sentence. According to a Supreme Court response, the state had found five statutory aggravating factors. Then, he was sentenced to death.
Pizzuto is terminally ill. The Idaho Statesman reported that he has been in hospice care for around two years because of his late-stage bladder cancer and other conditions. According to The Marshall Project, Pizzuto’s lawyers have argued that his medical conditions will cause him unnecessary pain and therefore violate his constitutional rights.
The Associated Press reported, “The state’s Commission of Pardons and Parole voted 4-3 in December to recommend that his death sentence be commuted to life in prison, citing in part the torture and abuse that Pizzuto experienced as a child and his serious health problems.”
The Marshall Project said that Pizzuto’s siblings alleged that their stepfather physically and sexually abused him, and said this led to a decreased intellectual capacity. Pizzuto’s lawyers have argued that he should be relieved of the death sentence due to intellectual disability.
The court had responded to this argument and said that Pizzuto had “failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact supporting his ID claim.” The Associated Press summarized Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s response: “The brutal nature of Pizzuto’s crimes merited the death sentence.”
Idaho has not performed a death penalty execution since 2012. According to Death Penalty Info, the state has performed 29 executions.
This news follows the state of Alabama pausing all executions due to a third failed attempt. In late November, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also ordered a full examination of the execution process and requested that no additional execution dates for inmates be set until after the review process is completed.