by Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
The Idaho Department of Correction has put a pause on all state executions as of May 23 to complete renovations of the death row facility at the Idaho State Maximum Security Institution.
The unit, known as F-Block, houses the existing facility for lethal injection executions. The pause is needed to allow renovation of the facility to make the firing squad the primary form of execution by July 1, 2026, according to an IDOC news release.
The state had the firing squad as a secondary method until the legislature passed House Bill 37 this year. Under the new law, Idaho would be the only state in the nation to use the firing squad as its primary method of execution.
“The current estimated time frame to complete this retrofit is approximately 6 to 9 months,” according to the news release. “Following completion of the remodel, the execution team will need time to conduct training to be ready to carry out an execution by firing squad beginning July 2026. The Department is confident it will meet the required timelines and will do so on budget.”
IDOC already would have had to pause lethal injection executions after U.S. District Judge Debora Grasham ordered the department in April to provide audio and visual access for media witnesses during any executions. That decision comes as a First Amendment lawsuit from a coalition of news organizations moves forward in court, according to the AP.
The Associated Press, The Idaho Statesman and East Idaho News sued the state’s prison director in December, arguing that key steps of the lethal injection process were being unconstitutionally hidden from public view.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.