Idaho Cancels Gerald Pizzuto's Execution Because it Can't Get Drugs

Idaho is no longer planning to execute a terminally ill man in December because of difficulty obtaining the lethal drugs needed to put him to death.

Gerald Pizzuto, 66, was scheduled to die by lethal injection on December 15.

But the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) said in a post on Facebook on Wednesday that preparations for the execution have been suspended.

IDOC director Josh Tewalt informed the state Board of Correction that he believes it is unlikely the state will be able to secure the drugs needed.

In a memo, he said he believes the death warrant should be allowed to expire.

"While our efforts to secure chemicals remain ongoing, I have no reason to believe our status will change prior to the scheduled execution on December 15, 2022," Tewalt wrote in the memo.

"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."

It added that Tewalt had announced the IDOC was "having difficult securing the chemicals" when it received Pizzuto's death warrant on November 16.

Pizzuto's attorney Deborah Czuba welcomed Wednesday's news, but criticized the state's decision to obtain a death warrant while being unprepared for an execution.

"We are greatly relieved about the news and will continue to do everything we can to spare Mr. Pizzuto, the citizens of Idaho and the prison staff the needless execution of a sick old man who is clearly not a threat," Czuba, supervising attorney for the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Defender Services of Idaho, said in a statement to Newsweek.

"The State's decision to get a death warrant while being unprepared for an execution led to a tremendous amount of unnecessary and costly litigation, all at taxpayer expense."

Czuba said she hopes that in the future, Idaho "will, like almost every other death-penalty state in the country, announce in advance what drugs it will use in executions so that serious constitutional claims can be fairly resolved by the courts.

"Transparency in this process is far preferable to leaving the public and the courts in the dark and forcing difficult and complicated issues to be decided without any care or deliberation."

Czuba previously slammed Idaho officials for setting an execution date while multiple legal challenges remained unresolved.

They include a challenge to Republican Gov. Brad Little's rejection of the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole's recommendation that Pizzuto's death sentence be commuted and that he be allowed to die a natural death behind bars. Pizzuto has late-stage bladder cancer.

"We remain steadfast in our position that the Governor should follow the recommendation of the parole commission and commute Mr. Pizzuto's sentence to life without parole," Czuba said.

The governor's office has been contacted for comment.

Pizzuto was convicted in 1986 of killing Berta Herndon, 58, and her 37-year-old nephew, Del Herndon, during an armed robbery north of McCall.

Prosecutors said he approached the Herndon's cabin armed with a .22 caliber rifle in July 1985, tied their wrists behind their backs and bound their legs to steal their money before he bludgeoned them both. Another man, James Rice, then shot Del Herndon in the head. Berta Herndon died of the injuries she sustained in the robbery.