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 December, the parole board granted convicted murderer Gerald Pizzuto, who is terminally ill, a reduced sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole, which Gov. Brad Little immediately denied.
The state appealed the case to the state Supreme Court.
The Idaho Statesman reports that in the majority opinion, the Supreme Court stated that a constitutional amendment passed by Idaho voters in 1986 affirmed the governor’s power to deny clemency recommendations, after the Legislature sought to limit the parole board’s power and grant the governor that authority.
With the ruling, the attorney general’s office is immediately seeking that a death warrant be reissued for Pizzuto, which would signal his execution by lethal injection in the next 30 days.
