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Death Penalty Controversy in Idaho

By Michael Blankenship

The Idaho Supreme Court unanimously decided that the victim impact statements admitted by 4th District Judge Thomas Neville during the capital sentencing of Darrell Payne exceeded the scope permitted by existing case law. The result is a new sentencing trial for Payne.Read more...Very few people are happy about this turn of events. The most legitimate complaints were registered by the victim's father. "Why should we have to go through this again and be spun round and round and round?" said Paul Blomberg, the victim's father. "If we are going to have a death penalty and not enforce it, then the state of Idaho needs to step up and change the law.""It's hard to explain to people. Samantha needs ... we need closure. The sentence needs to be confirmed one way or the other," Blomberg said...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Justice Gambit on December 21, 2008 (boomark / email).