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Idaho Supreme Court to decide governor’s authority, longtime death row inmate’s fate – East Idaho News

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Idaho Supreme Court to decide governor’s authority, longtime death row inmate’s fate – East Idaho News


BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – The Idaho Supreme Courtroom is tasked Monday with listening to arguments over whether or not to restrict the governor’s powers, a case that may doubtless resolve whether or not a dying row inmate lives or dies.

The appeals case stems from final 12 months’s resolution by the Idaho Fee of Pardons and Parole to cut back the dying sentence of convicted assassin Gerald Pizzuto to life in jail. The identical day, Gov. Brad Little intervened to reject the parole board’s cut up majority vote, sustaining Pizzuto’s decades-long path towards execution.

The core query now could be whether or not the governor has the authority to disclaim the parole board’s choices. A 1986 voter-approved modification to the Idaho Structure is on the heart of the controversy.

Concentrating on that modification, Pizzuto’s attorneys challenged the Republican governor’s motion earlier this 12 months, arguing that even the state’s revised structure doesn’t grant the governor such energy. A state district court docket choose — the identical one who signed Pizzuto’s most up-to-date dying warrant final summer season — agreed, and restored the parole board’s vote to grant clemency to Pizzuto, 66, who suffers from late-stage bladder most cancers and has been in hospice look after greater than two years.

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Choose Jay Gaskill, of Idaho’s 2nd Judicial District in Nez Perce County, wrote in his February opinion that there is no such thing as a proof that both the state’s founders or voters in 1986 “meant to offer the governor the last word decision-making authority with respect as to whether a dying sentence needs to be commuted.”

“The Idaho Structure has by no means directed that one particular person has the ability to resolve issues in any prison matter, not to mention a case with the last word penalty of dying,” Gaskill wrote.

RELATED | Little gained’t commute sick dying row inmate’s sentence

The lawyer normal’s workplace, in collaboration with the governor’s workplace, appealed the choice to the Idaho Supreme Courtroom. Simply one of many court docket’s 5 members, Justice Colleen Zahn, was appointed by Little.

DEBATE OVER ‘AMBIGUOUS’ AMENDMENT

The arguments within the case from the lawyer normal’s workplace concentrate on 5 phrases: “solely as offered by statute.”

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The Idaho Legislature sought in 1986 to restrict the parole board’s energy via a constitutional modification, which entailed including the phrase to the state’s structure. Amending the Idaho Structure requires voter approval, and greater than 68% supported the change.

However Gaskill, spurred on by Pizzuto’s attorneys with the nonprofit Federal Defender Companies of Idaho, wrote that the five-word phrase was ambiguous. The Idaho Structure nonetheless states that the parole board, which is appointed by the governor, is the one entity within the state with the authority to “grant commutations and pardons after conviction.” In the meantime, the governor has the ability to grant respites or reprieves, or what equate to momentary delays of executions.

RELATED | Condemned man’s legal professionals say governor can’t veto commutation board

An Idaho legislation handed in 1988 primarily based on the constitutional modification later clarified that in dying penalty instances, “the fee’s willpower shall solely represent a suggestion topic to approval or disapproval by the governor.” Gaskill dominated, although, that the language added to the structure doesn’t grant the governor the flexibility to overrule the fee’s resolution, making Little’s motion to disclaim Pizzuto’s lowered sentence illegal.

The lawyer normal’s workplace argued in its submitting with the Idaho Supreme Courtroom that Gaskill erred in his evaluation of the five-word phrase, as a result of its which means is rooted in “legislative historical past and guidelines of statutory building.”

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“It’s troublesome to check how the phrase ‘solely as offered by statute’ is ambiguous,” learn the transient signed by Lamont Anderson, deputy lawyer normal and chief of the workplace’s capital litigation unit. “The intent of the Idaho Legislature was to convey upon the Legislature the only real energy to find out how and when commutations and pardons could be offered.”

The “plain language” of the Idaho Structure, Pizzuto’s attorneys countered of their response transient, makes the 1988 legislation unconstitutional.

“Though (Idaho legislation) claims to offer the governor the last word commutation energy, it’s unconstitutional,” learn the submitting signed by Jonah Horwitz, Pizzuto’s lawyer with the Federal Defender Companies. “The structure confers the commutation energy solely on the fee, rendering (Idaho legislation) illegal and the governor’s interference with Mr. Pizzuto’s case invalid.”

Spokespersons for the lawyer normal’s workplace and Federal Defender Companies every declined Idaho Statesman requests for remark about Monday’s listening to.

The Supreme Courtroom allowed the governor’s workplace to file a friend-of-the-court transient in assist of the state’s place within the attraction.

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“It’s no secret that this case includes probably the most litigated capital case in Idaho historical past,” learn the submitting signed by Brady Corridor and Jared Larsen, every counsel for the governor’s workplace. “It is a studied and well-developed coverage that’s supported by (the Idaho Structure). The pardon and commutation regime that Idaho settled on practically a century after statehood is constitutional and deserves to proceed.”

PIZZUTO’S CONVICTION HISTORY

Pizzuto has remained on Idaho dying row since 1986, after he was convicted of the murders the 12 months earlier than of two folks at a distant Idaho County cabin north of McCall.

RELATED | He killed 2 folks in Idaho in 1985. Now he’s asking the state to not execute him.

Berta Herndon, 58, and her nephew Del Herndon, 37, have been prospecting gold within the space when Pizzuto and a pair of accomplices robbed and killed them. Pizzuto’s co-defendants testified that he bludgeoned the Herndons to dying with a hammer, and every obtained lighter sentences.

Pizzuto has averted execution thrice since then, most lately final summer season, when the state’s parole board granted him a clemency listening to. Pizzuto’s scheduled June 2021 deadly injection was postponed.

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Idaho dying row inmate Gerald Pizzuto, heart, attends his clemency listening to in November 2021. Bruce Livingston, left, one among Pizzuto’s attorneys with the nonprofit Federal Defender Companies of Idaho, sits at his left, with different members of his group additionally available. | Idaho Public Tv / Screenshot

The seven-member parole board held the clemency listening to in November, and granted him commutation in a 4-3 vote a month later, citing Pizzuto’s worsening well being and the truth that he won’t ever be launched. Little rejected the parole board’s resolution the identical day.

RELATED | Clemency listening to Tuesday for terminally unwell dying row inmate

“I’m dedicated to the rule of legislation and have adopted the Idaho Structure and Idaho code in denying a lowered sentence for Gerald Pizzuto’s merciless and calculated murders of Berta and Del Herndon in Idaho County,” Little mentioned in a written assertion launched Friday by his workplace. “The severity of Pizzuto’s brutal, mindless, and indiscriminate killing spree strongly warrants in opposition to a lowered sentence. The state should have the flexibility to totally perform the simply sentences as ordered by the court docket on this case.”

4 days after Little’s motion rejecting the parole board’s resolution, Pizzuto’s attorneys questioned its legality and filed a movement in state district court docket. In February, Gaskill dominated of their favor and reinstated the parole board’s resolution.

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PIZZUTO’S CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS VIOLATED, ATTORNEYS SAY

In a separate lawsuit filed in opposition to the parole board since that point, Pizzuto’s attorneys argued that failing to take away their consumer from the confines of dying row is illegal. That lawsuit additionally named the warden on the Idaho Most Safety Establishment, the place Pizzuto is held.

Of their petition for prisoner reclassification, Pizzuto’s attorneys argued persevering with to imprison him beneath present situations violates their consumer’s constitutional rights.

“He continues to be handled as a dying row inmate when his dying sentences have successfully been commuted to life with out the potential for parole beneath the state structure,” the filings learn.

The lawyer normal’s workplace, once more representing the state, opposed Pizzuto’s launch right into a separate inhabitants on the jail earlier than the Supreme Courtroom points its resolution. Two weeks in the past, Ada County Justice of the Peace Choose Michael Dean paused the lawsuit whereas they await the ruling from the state’s highest court docket.

The lawyer normal’s workplace has within the meantime secured an preliminary victory in its attraction from the state Supreme Courtroom. In opposition to the needs of Pizzuto’s attorneys, it efficiently petitioned the Supreme Courtroom to maneuver up the listening to.

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“The query on this attraction is just too necessary for additional delay and needs to be resolved expeditiously,” the state’s request learn. “If this attraction is just not expedited, it’s possible that a vital state constitutional query is probably not addressed due to Pizzuto’s dying (from pure causes).”

“If something, the significance of a problem, standing alone, is an incentive for the court docket not to expedite an attraction,” the Federal Defender Companies wrote in its response. “The court docket’s reply needs to be crafted with the care and a focus of a full attraction, and never an unnecessarily rushed timetable.”

However come Monday, Idaho Supreme Courtroom justices can be requested to start deciding whose constitutional interpretation — Pizzuto or the state’s — is right. The court docket’s ruling is just not anticipated for a number of months.

Ought to the justices difficulty a ruling in favor of the state, the lawyer normal’s workplace seeks the rapid issuance of one other dying warrant for Pizzuto — his fourth — and the scheduling of his execution by deadly injection.

The Supreme Courtroom listening to is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday and is open to the general public.

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Idaho

This Idaho Theme Park Ranked as One of the Best in the U.S. — and It Has Wild West Vibes, an Earthquake-themed Coaster, and Free Water Park Admission

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This Idaho Theme Park Ranked as One of the Best in the U.S. — and It Has Wild West Vibes, an Earthquake-themed Coaster, and Free Water Park Admission


With its rugged Western landscapes, Idaho attracts visitors who want to immerse themselves in the peace, quiet, and charms of the great outdoors. But now there’s another great — and thrilling — reason to visit the Gem State.

A recent study conducted by casino sweepstakes comparison site Casinos Sweeps revealed the top 50 highest-rated theme parks in America. The site analyzed over 300 amusement parks across the country — including favorites like Dollywood,  Silver Dollar City, and Disneyland — using Tripadvisor and Google reviews. And landing in the top 30, with a solid ratio of 70 percent five-star reviews, is Silverwood Theme Park in Athol, Idaho.

The Wild West-themed park, located less than 20 miles north of Coeur d’Alene, opened in 1988 and has transformed from a local amusement park to a regional destination. With over 70 rides and attractions, it’s the largest theme park in the northwest. 

For thrill-seekers, Silverwood has an impressive array of seven rollercoasters. There’s Aftershock, an inverted, boomerang-style roller coaster as well as the Stunt Pilot, a unique, single-rail attraction, designed as a homage to the daily air shows that used to take place in the park. For those with little ones, there are also family-friendly rides, including the spinning Krazy Koaster, which runs on a figure-eight track.  And don’t miss out on Tremors, an award-winning, earthquake-themed roller coaster that takes riders through four underground tunnels.

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But for those interested in gentler excitement, Silverwood has several classic amusement park attractions, including a Ferris wheel, carousel, log flume, and drop tower. Be sure to make time to ride the Silverwood Central Railway, which takes riders on a scenic 30-minute ride around the park aboard a 1915 steam engine with views of northern Idaho.

Summertime temperatures in Athol can sometimes reach the high 80s, and a visit to Boulder Beach is an ideal way to cool off. Best of all, access to the water park is included with standard admission (prices start at $74 per person for a day pass). Guests can relax in one of two wave pools at Boulder Beach Bay or take on the 925-foot-long Eagle Hunt, the longest dueling water coaster in the country. The truly brave will want to conquer Velocity Peak, a high-speed water tower with three slides that can send riders careening off at 55 miles per hour.

Silverwood’s seasonal events are also a fan favorite, including the annual Halloween Scarywood Haunted Nights. The nighttime celebration embraces the spooky season with haunted scare zones and immersive mazes.

As for other highly rated theme parks across the West, properties such as Epic Discovery in Breckenridge, Colorado; Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park in Maricopa County, Arizona; and Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah also made Casinos Sweeps’ list.



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Legislative committee introduces bill to address DEI programs at colleges and universities in Idaho

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Legislative committee introduces bill to address DEI programs at colleges and universities in Idaho


BOISE, Idaho — An Idaho legislative committee is reviewing a draft bill titled the “Freedom of Inquiry in Higher Education,” presented by Republican Senator Ben Toews. The proposal aims to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices from state-funded colleges and universities and redirect those resources to academic support programs for all students.

“My goal is to work together with our higher education partners to move us in the right direction of guaranteeing the freedom of speech and freedom of thought, which I actually believe we all desire to have on our college campuses,” Toews said.

The drafted bill would prohibit public universities from funding or supporting identity-based DEI offices, with the exception of tribal centers. It would also prevent schools from requiring students to take DEI courses unless they are part of a chosen academic program.

Toews said the bill is modeled after policies in other states.

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“We’re looking for what’s worked in other places to attempt to make sure that our universities and higher education institutions have that freedom of thought that we want,” he said.

However, Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, a Democrat, criticized the proposal, saying the committee’s focus is misplaced.

“It doesn’t feel like a productive working group. And in fact, it’s really troubling that we’re spending this amount of time and resources on talking about something that the government really shouldn’t have a role in,” Wintrow said. “We should really be focusing on what’s important to students—and that’s affordability, making sure they can pay for school, get to school, find a place to live and study and thrive.”

Josh Whitworth, executive director of the Idaho State Board of Education, said it’s important to support all students without isolating specific identity groups.

“The question is, as an institution, we want to make sure that the services that they need are not focused down on their identity, but focused on what they need,” Whitworth said. “The idea is don’t just create little groups. How do you give the support of all students to engage together and really create that holistic environment?”

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The committee will continue reviewing the draft bill in the coming weeks.





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A 5% raise could be coming to most Idaho state workers

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A 5% raise could be coming to most Idaho state workers


Most Idaho state employees could see about a 5% raise come July in a recommendation approved by a legislative committee Thursday.

Specifically, the proposal calls for a $1.55 hourly pay bump. That works out to at least a 5% raise for those earning less than $64,500 annually.

Democrats on the Change in Employee Compensation Committee, like Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise), voted against the measure, saying it didn’t go far enough – especially for higher paid workers.

“I’m worried that they’re not even going to keep up with the cost of living and that’s really a problem for me,” Ward-Engelking said.

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After experiencing some of the highest rates of inflation in the country in 2022, prices in the Mountain region rose just 1.7% from November 2023 to November 2024.

The latest data from an Idaho Department of Human Resources labor market study show state workers here, on average, earn 15.1% less than the median wage of public and private sector employees in the region.

That’s also factoring in healthcare and retirement benefits, which are more generous than the private sector.

Base salaries across Idaho state workers are 25.1% below average compared to the median regional public and private sector employees.

The CEC Committee approved an 8% pay raise for Idaho State Police troopers to help retain and recruit more officers.

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“It takes years of training and expense to produce a trooper with the experience to handle all the things that a trooper has to handle and this has become, in my opinion, a public safety issue,” said Sen. Dan Foreman (R-Viola).

Nurses and healthcare staff would get a 3% raise under the plan, with IT workers earning up to 4.5% pay hikes.

The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee will consider the recommendation before finalizing a bill.

Copyright 2025 Boise State Public Radio

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