19-2705. DEATH SENTENCE OR DEATH WARRANT AND CONFINEMENT THEREUNDER — ACCESS TO CONDEMNED PERSON. (1) Whenever a person is sentenced to death, the judge passing sentence shall, in accordance with section 19-2719, Idaho Code, sign and file a death warrant fixing a date of execution not more than thirty (30) days thereafter.

(2) The warrant shall be directed to the director of the Idaho department of correction and shall be delivered to him forthwith.

(3) Whenever a person is under death warrant, execution of which has not been stayed, the warden of the prison in which the person is incarcerated shall keep the condemned person in solitary confinement until execution. No person shall be allowed access to the condemned person except law enforcement personnel investigating matters within the scope of their duties, the attorney of record, attending physicians, a spiritual adviser of the condemned’s choosing, and members of the immediate family of the condemned, and then only in accordance with prison rules. Persons under death warrant will be allowed contact visits with their attorneys of record and the agents of their attorneys of record. Such visits will take place subject to prison rules. No other contact visits shall be permitted. Prison officials have authority to suspend or deny visits when the safe, secure and orderly operation of the facility or public safety could be compromised.

(4) For purposes of this section a "contact visit" is defined as a meeting between a condemned person and another person during which the parties are not separated by a screen or other partition which prohibits physical contact. Contact visits with attorneys of record or agents of the attorneys of record will take place in a private, confidential setting where the prisoner and his attorney are in the same room.

(5) For the purposes of this section, "agents of the attorneys of record" means employees of the attorneys of record including investigators, paralegals, legal interns and mitigation specialists but does not include retained experts or other independent contractors of the attorneys of record.

(6) For the purposes of this section, "legal intern" means a qualified law student or recent law school graduate who, upon application and approval by the Idaho state bar association, is granted a limited license to engage in the practice of law.

(7) No person shall be allowed access to the condemned person under death warrant except law enforcement personnel investigating matters within the scope of their duties, the condemned person’s attorneys of record, the agents of the condemned person’s attorneys of record, attending physicians, spiritual advisers of the condemned person’s choosing and approved visitors.

(8) When a person has been sentenced to death, but the death warrant has been stayed, contact visits between the condemned person and persons other than his attorneys of record and the agents of the attorneys of record may be allowed at the discretion of prison officials.

(9) All visits, contact or noncontact, with a condemned person, whether such person is under sentence of death or death warrant, shall take place only in accordance with prison rules. Prison officials shall have the authority to suspend or deny such visits when public safety or the safe, secure and orderly operation of the prison could be compromised.

(10) In the seven (7) days immediately preceding the scheduled execution of a condemned person, the condemned person may have contact visits with spiritual advisers of the condemned person’s choosing and members of the condemned person’s family, in addition to the attorneys of record and the agents of the attorneys of record.

(11) When a person has been sentenced to death, but the death warrant has been stayed, the warden is not required to hold such person in solitary confinement or to restrict access to him until the stay of the death warrant is lifted or a new death warrant is issued by the sentencing court; provided however, no condemned person shall be housed in less than maximum security confinement, and provided further that nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the warden’s discretion to house such person under conditions more restrictive if necessary to ensure public safety or the safe, secure and orderly operation of the facility.

(12) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a liberty interest in the condemned person or to expand the right of access to courts under state or federal law.

History:

[(19-2705) (19-2706) 19-2705, added 1984, ch. 159, sec. 2, p. 387; am. and redesig. 1999, ch. 285, sec. 3, p. 710; am. & redesig. 2003, ch. 282, sec. 2, p. 766.]