Idaho bill to extend death penalty unconstitutional, aims for US Supreme Court review
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Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman
BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The Idaho House overwhelmingly passed a bill that would allow the death penalty for anyone convicted of certain sex crimes against preteen children Tuesday, even as its sponsor acknowledged that such a law would be unconstitutional.
House Bill 515 is designed to challenge decades of U.S. Supreme Court precedent that limited death sentences to defendants who commit murder, said Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, who co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle. With the current supermajority of conservative-leaning justices on the nation’s highest court, the hope is that the U.S. Supreme Court will review the Idaho bill if it becomes law and issue a decision that expands the eligibility for the death penalty.
“There is a deep, dark, dark side in our culture, and it’s our job to protect the children,” Skaug said Tuesday. “There are times when things are so wicked that retribution is appropriate.”
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The House approved the bill in a 56-12 vote. The bill next heads to the Senate for committee review.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 ruled that the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits death sentences for the rape of a child under 12 years old when the victim survived. That decision doubled down on a landmark decision in 1977 that found that a death sentence was “grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment” for the rape of an adult whose life was not also taken.
The 1977 case, Coker v. Georgia, was decided by a 7-2 vote among the justices, while the 2008 ruling in Kennedy v. Louisiana came in a 5-4 decision. Three of those justices who dissented in 2008, including Chief Justice John Roberts, remain on the court today along with three other conservative justices.
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“I believe that was a wrong decision that took away our state’s right to decide what to do in the most heinous crimes of our community in our state,” said Skaug, a personal injury attorney. “I think there will be a very different decision with our present Supreme Court.”
The Idaho bill mirrors a law that took effect in Florida last year, when the governor sought to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s prior precedent. The first defendant to face the prospect of the new law reached a plea deal in exchange for life in prison without the chance of parole.
“Idaho needs to be like Florida and lead out in this and go, ‘We’re here to protect these kids,’” Tanner added. “At some point in time, we have to be able to say, ‘No, enough is enough,’ with … the most severe ones.”
The American Civil Liberties of Idaho, which opposes the death penalty, also opposes the newly proposed law in Idaho.
“We think the Legislature has a duty and responsibility to uphold the law and serve the people that is constitutional instead of attacking people’s constitutional rights,” Rebecca De León, spokesperson for the ACLU of Idaho, told the Idaho Statesman in a phone interview. “This is a very irresponsible use of taxpayer funding.”