Idaho does have the death penalty. The state has authorized capital punishment since reenacting its statute in 1977, has carried out three executions in that time, and as of March 2026 holds eight people under a sentence of death. The last execution took place in 2012. Only two crimes can lead to a death sentence in Idaho, and prosecutors must clear several procedural and evidentiary hurdles before a jury is even asked to consider it.
Which Crimes Can Bring a Death Sentence
Idaho reserves the death penalty for two categories of offense. The first is first-degree murder, which covers premeditated killings, murders committed during felonies such as arson, robbery, rape, or kidnapping, and the killing of a law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty, along with other circumstances defined by statute.1Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 18-4003 – Degrees of Murder The second is aggravated lewd conduct with a child twelve years old or younger.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2515 – Sentence in Capital Cases – Special Sentencing Proceeding – Statutory Aggravating Circumstances – Special Verdict or Written Findings
A conviction for one of these crimes does not automatically put death on the table. The prosecutor first has to file a written notice of intent to seek the death penalty.3Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 18-4004A – Notice of Intent to Seek Death Penalty If that notice is never filed, the maximum sentence is life in prison.4Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 18-4004 – Punishment for Murder The notice tells the defense from the outset that the case is capital, which shapes how both sides prepare.
What the Prosecution Has to Prove
After a capital-eligible conviction, the case moves to a separate sentencing hearing. The jury has to find, unanimously and beyond a reasonable doubt, that at least one of eleven statutory aggravating circumstances applies. Those aggravators include a prior murder conviction, multiple victims, killing for hire, murders that are especially heinous or cruel, murders committed during another violent felony, killings of public officials or witnesses, and several others.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2515 – Sentence in Capital Cases – Special Sentencing Proceeding – Statutory Aggravating Circumstances – Special Verdict or Written Findings
If the jury can’t unanimously agree on any aggravating factor, the death penalty is off the table and the court imposes life in prison with a fixed term of at least ten years. If the jury does find an aggravator, sentencing moves to a weighing phase. The defense can present essentially any mitigating evidence, including the defendant’s background, mental health, childhood, and role in the offense. The jury then decides whether the mitigation makes death an unjust sentence. A death sentence requires the jury to unanimously conclude that mitigation does not outweigh aggravation. A single holdout, or any failure to reach unanimous agreement, defaults the sentence to life without parole.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2515 – Sentence in Capital Cases – Special Sentencing Proceeding – Statutory Aggravating Circumstances – Special Verdict or Written Findings
Who Cannot Be Sentenced to Death
Federal constitutional law bars executing anyone who was under 18 at the time of the offense, and Idaho follows that rule. Idaho also has its own statutory prohibition on executing people with intellectual disabilities. If a court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant has significantly below-average intellectual functioning with an IQ of 70 or below, together with significant limitations in adaptive skills like communication, self-care, or daily living that began before age 18, the death penalty is not available.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2515A – Imposition of Death Penalty Upon Mentally Retarded Person Prohibited
A defendant who plans to raise this claim must notify the court and prosecution at least 90 days before trial. The judge holds a hearing outside the jury’s presence. Raising the claim waives any privilege over related evidence, giving the prosecution access to the defendant for its own expert examinations. The jury is never told whether the hearing happened or what the court decided.5Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2515A – Imposition of Death Penalty Upon Mentally Retarded Person Prohibited
How Idaho Carries Out Executions
Idaho’s execution method is in the middle of a formal change. Under the statute in effect through June 30, 2026, lethal injection is the primary method and the firing squad is a backup used when the director of the Idaho Department of Correction determines the necessary drugs are unavailable.6Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2716 – Methods of Execution
In March 2025, Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 37, which reverses that order starting July 1, 2026. The firing squad becomes Idaho’s primary method, and lethal injection becomes the alternative. The bill passed both chambers by wide margins. The shift was driven largely by the difficulty of obtaining lethal injection drugs, a problem that has slowed executions nationally and directly affected Idaho, including a failed 2024 attempt in which the execution team could not establish an intravenous line after eight tries over roughly an hour. The Idaho Department of Correction is developing firing squad protocols, and formal procedures had not been publicly released as of early 2026.
Appeals, Time Limits, and Clemency
Every death sentence in Idaho is automatically reviewed by the Idaho Supreme Court once the trial court judgment becomes final. The court examines the full record for legal error and for whether the punishment is appropriate, and it does so whether or not the defendant wants to appeal. The court also keeps records from every death sentence imposed since 1975, which it can use to compare new cases against past ones.7Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2827 – Review of Death Sentences – Preservation of Records
Post-conviction deadlines in Idaho capital cases are unusually tight. A defendant has 42 days after the judgment is filed to raise any legal or factual challenge that is known or should reasonably be known, and the same 42-day limit applies to ineffective-assistance-of-appellate-counsel claims measured from the Supreme Court’s final order on direct appeal. Missing the window waives the claim permanently. The district court then has 90 days to decide any timely challenge, with capital cases taking priority on the docket. Extensions require extraordinary circumstances and immediate Supreme Court review.8Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 19-2719 – Capital Cases – Limitations on Post-Conviction Review
Clemency in capital cases runs through the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole, but the commission’s role is only advisory. It can recommend a commutation or pardon to the governor, who holds the final authority. The governor has 30 days to approve or reject the recommendation, and a rejection or a failure to act within that window kills the recommendation automatically.9Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 20-1016 – Powers of the Commission In 2022, the Idaho Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that the governor has constitutional authority to reject a clemency recommendation from the commission.
Where Death Row Stands
Idaho’s death row holds eight people as of March 2026. Seven men are at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise, and one woman is at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. The state has executed three people since 1977, most recently in 2012.10Idaho Department of Correction. Death Row The long gap reflects the same pressures that have slowed executions across the country: drug shortages, protracted litigation over execution protocols, and the length of the capital appellate process. The 2026 pivot to the firing squad is Idaho’s attempt to work around the drug problem, though its effect on the pace of executions is not yet clear.