BOISE, Idaho — Idaho’s first execution in more than a decade, scheduled next month for death row inmate Gerald Pizzuto, was postponed Wednesday after the state prison system acknowledged that it has been unable to obtain the necessary lethal injection drugs.
Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt, tasked with carrying out Pizzuto’s planned Dec. 15 execution, told the governor and Idaho attorney general’s office of the development in a letter, as well as through an attorney’s federal district court filing. Pizzuto’s death warrant will be allowed to lapse, the corresponding court filing reads.
“While our efforts to secure chemicals remain ongoing, I have no reason to believe our status will change prior to the scheduled execution on Dec. 15, 2022,” Tewalt wrote in the letter. “In my professional judgment, I believe it is in the best interest of justice to allow the death warrant to expire and stand down our execution preparation.”
