BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that the governor maintains the authority to reject a clemency decision to reduce a prisoner’s sentence by the state’s parole board, in turn restarting a longtime death row inmate’s execution process.
In a 5-0 decision, the state’s highest court reversed a district court’s ruling that prevented the issuance of a death warrant for convicted murderer Gerald Pizzuto. In February, Judge Jay Gaskill, of Nez Perce County, sided with Pizzuto, 66, and his attorneys, agreeing that the Idaho Constitution never granted such a power to the governor.
Instead, Gaskill ruled that authority remains with the Idaho Commissions of Pardons and Parole, which is appointed by the governor. In December, the parole board granted Pizzuto, who is terminally ill, a reduced sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole, which Gov. Brad Little immediately denied. Pizzuto’s attorneys with the nonprofit Federal Defender Services of Idaho then filed suit.
