Narrowing Death Eligibility in Idaho: An Empirical and Constitutional Analysis

49 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2022

See all articles by Aliza Cover

Aliza Cover

University of Idaho College of Law

Date Written: February 8, 2022

Abstract

The death penalty is a uniquely severe punishment – the ultimate, irreversible act of violence by state against citizen. Because “death is different” from all other punishments, the Eighth Amendment restricts its use, mandating that it “be reserved for the worst of crimes and limited in its instances of application.” Capital punishment statutes must narrow death eligibility, meaningfully differentiating between those “worst” murderers, who may be subject to the death penalty, and the rest of murderers, who may not.

This Article reports the findings of an empirical study designed to evaluate how effectively Idaho’s capital punishment scheme serves this constitutional narrowing requirement in practice. The study involved a review of first-and second-degree murder convictions in cases filed from June 2002 through the end of 2019 to determine how many of these cases would have been factually eligible for the death penalty under the terms of Idaho’s statutes – regardless of whether they were pursued as capital cases by the prosecution. This review revealed that 86 – 90% of all murder convictions were factually first-degree murder cases, and 93 – 98% of factual first-degree murder cases were eligible for the death penalty. These findings strongly suggest that Idaho’s statute fails to fulfill the constitutional narrowing requirement.

The study also produced results on how frequently the death penalty is sought and imposed in death-eligible cases in Idaho. The prosecution filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in 21% of factually death-eligible cases; the prosecution proceeded to a capital trial in 5% of death-eligible cases; and a death sentence was obtained in 3% of death-eligible cases. These findings – which combine a high rate of death eligibility with a low rate of death-charging and death-sentencing – strongly suggest that death is an “unusual” punishment in Idaho, with important implications for its constitutionality under Furman v. Georgia.

Keywords: death penalty, capital punishment, Eighth Amendment

Suggested Citation

Cover, Aliza, Narrowing Death Eligibility in Idaho: An Empirical and Constitutional Analysis (February 8, 2022). 57 Idaho Law Review 559 (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4030089

Aliza Cover (Contact Author)

University of Idaho College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 442321
Moscow, ID 83844-2321
United States

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