BOISE, Idaho — Sickos who prey on Idaho’s youngest kids are about to face the ultimate punishment, delivered by a hail of bullets.
Starting July 1, just nine days from now, the Gem State will make death by firing squad its primary method of execution, becoming the only state in America to do so.
The bombshell move pairs perfectly with another law Idaho passed last year that allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for “aggravated lewd conduct” with children 12 and younger when aggravating factors are present — things like repeated abuse, use of force, kidnapping, or multiple victims.
Gov. Brad Little didn’t hold back when he signed the death penalty expansion bill.
“The sexual abuse of children is sickening and evil, and perpetrators convicted of these crimes deserve the ultimate punishment,” Little said. He also proudly noted that Idaho had just become the only state to make the firing squad its main execution method.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, the Republican lawmaker who pushed both bills, has long argued that the worst child predators deserve nothing less than the harshest penalty on the books.
Idaho’s Department of Correction is already retrofitting its execution chamber at the maximum-security prison near Boise for the new method. The roughly $900,000 project is on track to be finished in time for the July 1 switch. Lethal injection will remain as a backup option.
The combination has sent a clear message to child molesters: Hurt our kids in the worst ways, and you could be staring down a firing squad.
Critics, including death penalty opponents and the ACLU, are already howling. They point to a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the death penalty for child rape cases that don’t involve murder. Idaho lawmakers expect legal challenges but believe the new law’s narrow focus on the most aggravated cases, and a potentially more conservative Supreme Court, could survive scrutiny.
For now, tough-on-crime Idahoans are cheering the development.
