Certain sex crimes against children could carry death penalty in Idaho

Sex crimes against children could be punishable by death under a new bill that Idaho House Republican legislators passed Tuesday.

House Bill 515 would allow for the death penalty in cases of lewd conduct with children under age 12 with aggravating circumstances. Co-sponsor Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, told House lawmakers that the death penalty would be reserved for heinous cases, like repeat offenders.  

“There is a deep, dark, dark side in our culture. And it’s our job to protect the children. There are times when things are so wicked that retribution is appropriate,” Skaug said. 

Idaho law only allows the death penalty in first-degree murder cases, according to Idaho Reports. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2008 blocked death penalties for child rape in Kennedy v. Louisiana. Florida passed a child rape death penantly law last year. 

Responding to concerns that the Idaho bill is unconstitutional, Skaug said he thinks the current Supreme Court would reach a different decision.

“Well there’s constitutional and there’s constitutional. Depends on the court of the day,” Skaug, an attorney, told House lawmakers.

Only eight Idaho prisoners are on death row, according to the Idaho Department of Correction. Skaug said he expects fewer cases under the new bill. 

“It would be very rare that this case would happen. It’d be very rare that a prosecutor would take this kind of case and ask for the death penalty, but it will happen. And I say to you that when you see that case, you read about it in the newspaper, you’re gonna say, ‘This is the one case that this needs to happen,’” Skaug said. 

The Idaho House passed the bill on a 57-11 vote.

Idaho legislators debate constitutionality of child lewd conduct death penalty bill

Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls, initially voted against the bill but reversed her vote afterward. 

Before the vote, Mickelsen said she doesn’t doubt the crimes’ heinousness’ or children’s suffering. But she said she thought Idaho’s money would be better spent waiting for the Supreme Court to rule on other cases. Mickelson declined to comment to the Idaho Capital Sun about why she changed her vote.

Rep. Jack Nelsen, R-Jerome, was the only Republican House lawmaker to oppose the bill after Mickelsen’s vote change. 

“My concern is judicious use of taxpayer money. Florida already passed this. It’s obviously in the courts. I see no reason to spend hard-earned Idaho taxpayer’s dollars on a bill that’s a little bit of time and patience, we’ll know what the outcome is,” Nelsen told the Sun in an interview after the floor debate. 

Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, told lawmakers on the House floor that he couldn’t vote for a bill that was unconstitutional, and he doubted the Supreme Court would reverse its decision. Gannon said he’d prefer to spend money to hire more detectives to solve crimes.

Skaug said he wasn’t worried about costs.

“The victims forever live in fear of the release of their perpetrators, and many of these perpetrators are repeat criminals of this type of crime. I believe this is worth the fight,” he said.

ACLU of Idaho spokesperson Rebecca De León called the bill “blatantly and admittedly unconstitutional” in a statement to the Idaho Capital Sun.

“House Bill 515 and any iterations of (it) have already been litigated in our country’s highest court, and found to be unconstitutional. Our lawmakers should exercise a healthy respect for laws, law enforcement, and judicial review. This bill spits on the checks and balances our country was founded on,” De León said.

Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, who co-sponsored the bill, told the Sun after the vote Monday that he expects other states to pursue similar legislation, and that other challenges would likely advance before Idaho’s.

“I don’t think Idaho is going to be one of the front runners in a sense of the Supreme Court dealing with this. I do think Florida, and there’ll be other states that will pop up before us, but I hope we’re in that mix because there are cases that have happened in the state of Idaho that I think should be charged in the sense with this bill,” Tanner said.

Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, told House lawmakers the bill would make life easier on inmates who shouldn’t have it easier. 

The people who commit these crimes are the “least favored inmates,” he said. They live in “constant fear, constant duress, constant threats, constant intimidation and that is the life that they should live,” he said. 

“What this bill will do is say, ‘You know what? Let’s take you out of gen pop. Let’s give you your own cell in your own wing where you don’t have to worry about any of that anymore. We’re going to extend your life by some years while you go through the million dollar appeals process to get through the Ninth Circuit all the way to the Supreme Court, in hopes that maybe the law will be overturned. And we are going to relieve the worst people in our society of the burden that they should carry for the rest of their life,’” Mathias said. 

De León also said the most proven deterrence method for sexual assault crimes is sex education, and that the death penalty does not deter violent crimes.

Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.